Tales of Two Lovers
by KashinaKairi
Summary: Shunsui/Nanao one shots. No lemons. Caution! Some stories may not be suitable for all audiences. Wide range of genres, but mostly romance. Enjoy.
1. A Lover's Past

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~8th squad barracks~

Shunsui slid open the door to his old office. It was Nanao's, but not anymore. He slid off his soaking pink kimono and hung it on the hanger in the doorway. He walked to the fireplace and lit it. The heat chasing the chill from the rain away. But allowing memories from long ago to take it's place.

~57 years ago~

Shunsui laughed as he opened the door to his office. He was soaking wet, as was his Fukutaichou. "Well that was unexpected. Wasn't it, Nanao-chan?"

"You could clearly see a storm was coming! That's what you get for sunbathing so far away from the squad buildings." Nanao trudged off towards the bathroom. She came back out with two towels. "Dry yourself off so you don't catch a cold." She threw them at Shunsui after he had hung up his pink kimono and his Taichou haori.

"As my Nanao-chan wishes. You should go shower before you catch a cold. I would hate for my Nanao-chan to feel unwell. Especially since tomorrow is her birthday." Shunsui smiled at her as he draped a towel over his head.

"Take your clothes off before you start towelling off." Nanao rolled her eyes at him as she turned and walked back towards the bathroom.

Shunsui smiled as he removed his wet uniform and wrapped a towel around his waist. He sat on the window sill and waited for Nanao. He had made the round sill in the office for Nanao to sit and read. She also sat there during rain storms, she loved the rain, just not getting wet.

He watched the rain pour down the glass. The light refracted off of it, making it seem like he was underwater.

"What are you looking at?" Nanao was glad she had left a yukata in her desk drawer, in case she got caught in the rain. She also had a spare uniform, but it was late and she really didn't want to have to wear it just yet. She was drying off her hair with the towel around her shoulders and her glasses were on the desk. She didn't need them, but they helped to limit her power, she didn't want a promotion, she wanted to stay with Shunsui.

"Just the rain, my beautiful Nanao-chan." Shunsui turned his gaze to her. She was beautiful no matter what she looked like.

"Go take a shower before you catch a cold." Nanao pulled her eyes away from him as he walked towards her. Then past her into the bathroom. She found herself looking at his muscular back. 'He's toned. Very toned.' Nanao shook her head. 'He is my superior, not a possible relationship option. He wouldn't go for me anyway. He probably just sees me as a daughter, ot some kind of relative.'

Nanao sighed as she sat on the sill where he had previously been, it was still warm. She smiled as she stared out at the rain, willing it to wash away her feelings for him with it. She didn't need to feel hurt, not after how long she had felt so happy beside him.

"What is my lovely Nanao-chan thinking about?" Shunsui smiled as she just turned towards him, she had gotten used to his sneaking up on her.

"Nothing, Taichou." She sighed as she caught sight of his soaked hair. "Sit down. If you don't dry your hair you'll catch a cold."

"As my Nanao-chan wishes." Shunsui sat down on the floor in front of the window with Nanao behind him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of her drying his hair. She had done it multiple times before, this wasn't the first time they had gotten caught in the rain, and most certainly not his.

"What are you smiling about?" Nanao sat cross legged on the sill while she dried his hair. She loved how silky his wavy brown hair felt whenever it fell out of the towel and onto her hand. She couldn't count the number of times she had wanted to just run her hands through his hair, but he was her Taichou, it wouldn't be appropriate.

"Just thinking about when Nanao-chan was small and insisted on drying my hair when I came in from a rain storm." Shunsui tilted his head back and smiled at Nanao. She was smiling back at him. "Nanao-chan is so cute when she is caring for me."

"Some one had to back then, you most certainly weren't." She pushed his head back down and finished drying his hair. Running her hand through it to make sure it was dry. "Your good, now go get dressed." She hadn't really noticed that he was only wearing a towel.

Shunsui stood up and kissed Nanao's cheek. "As my Nanao-chan wishes." He walked to his desk and pulled a pink yukata out of it.

"How much pink do you own?" Nanao wasn't surprised by the colour, more by the fact that he seemed to have an endless supply of it.

Shunsui slid the yukata up his arms and fastened it with it parted, showing quite a bit at his chest. "My dear sweet lovely Nanao-chan. One can never have too much pink." He picked up the towel that had fallen to the floor. "I'll take the other towels into the bathroom."

Nanao stared at him wide eyed, he wasn't wearing anything under his yukata. 'Did he wear anything under his uniform?' Nanao shook the question out of her head. She froze when she felt Shunsui standing right in front of her.

"What is my lovely Nanao-chan shaking her head at? Could she be thinking about something naughty?" Shunsui backed away to avoid a punch. "That's not nice, Nanao-chan."

"That was very inappropriate, Taichou." She blushed as she sat back down on the window sill. He had guessed her thoughts easily.

Shunsui dropped the towels on the floor and sat down behind Nanao. Since it was a round window sill, he moved her sideways and she ended up leaned against him. He maneuvered himself so she was leaning against his chest. He had his arms wrapped around her to keep her from leaving. "It's so nice to have my Nanao-chan so close to me."

"Well you are holding me down, Taichou." Nanao tried to sound angry, but she was quite enjoying herself. She sounded more annoyed if anything, but she wasn't.

"Can't you call me Shunsui? We aren't working, so I'm not your superior right now. Although, my lovely Nanao-chan can always call me Shunsui." He whispered softly in her ear and smiled when he noticed her slight shiver.

Nanao was glad Shunsui was behind her, because then he couldn't see how much she was blushing. "We are in the office, Taichou." She wanted to say his name, but she couldn't bring herself to do it.

"Not Taichou, Shunsui, Nanao-chan." Shunsui nozzles against her neck. Her neck was tense. "Nanao-chan needs to relax more."

"Maybe you should do your work. Then I won't have to stress about you doing it." She thought of an idea of maybe getting him to do his work. "If you did your work then I could relax with you...Shunsui." She squeaked as he picked her up and sat her on his lap.

"Nanao-chan is so cute when she is bribing me." Shunsui smiled at her, she wasn't looking at him and she was blushing fiercely. "Nanao-chan is so cute." He kissed her forehead as he leaned back and pulled her with him.

Nanao just laid against his chest, his muscular toned chest, with a soft forest of hair covering it. She couldn't help herself from running her fingers through it. She felt his chest vibrate as he chuckled, she froze.

Shunsui whispered into her ear softly. "Don't stop. It's so rare for my Nanao-chan to be so open with herself." He had a hand on her hip and his other arm was against her back as he held her shoulder. She fit perfectly into his arms.

Nanao smiled as she laid her head against his chest and listened to his steady heartbeat. She felt herself drift off to sleep, it was hard to stay awake with his warm arms wrapped around her and his heart lulling her to sleep.

Shunsui smiled down at the sleeping woman in his arms. He knew she was asleep, he breathing was steady and she looked peaceful with a small smile on her lips. He kissed her forehead as he picked her up. He laid her down on the couch and pulled out another pink yukata he had in his desk and laid it over her. "Sleep well, Nanao."

*CLAP*  
~Flashback end~  
*CLAP*

Shunsui picked himself off of the floor. He had laid down in front of the fire place, and probably fell asleep. His clothes were dry and he wasn't sure what time it was, but it was still raining. He sat down on Nanao's window sill. He laid back and noticed something written on the ceiling of it that he hadn't notice before. He ran his hand over the delicate carving. 'Shunsui + Nanao = Forever' writen in a heart.

Shunsui chuckled a bit. 'Just like a school girl with a crush.'

~17 years ago~

Shunsui sat on the balcony connected to his office as he watched the rain fall. Nanao had created a kido that kept the rain from falling onto it. So the rain slid down the side and made it look like it was covered in glass.

"So this is were you were. I was looking for you at your house, but you weren't there." Shunsui looked up and smiled at Nanao. She was wearing a yukata, so he assumed she got caught in the rain and changed once she had gotten into the office. "What are you thinking about?" Nanao sat down beside Shunsui, he didn't have a smile on his face, so it was probably something serious.

Shunsui took a deep breath. He reached out his hand and pulled Nanao close to him once she took hold of it. He tucked her bangs away from her face as he smiled at her. He leaned closer and gently pressed his lips against hers. No matter how many times they kissed, it always felt like their first.

"What's the matter?" Nano looked at him with worry, he was definitely thinking about something serious. "You can tell me, Shunsui."

Shunsui smiled at her. "If only you knew how easily you disarm me, Nanao." He kissed her again before he decided to tell her. "Nanao, I've assigned you as Taichou of 8th squad."

Nanao stared at him in disbelief, then anger. "What?! Why?! Do you not want me around? Are you tired of me? Why would you send me away? Why would you-" She stopped when he placed a finger against her lips.

"I'm not doing any of that. They need a Taichou, and I couldn't leave it to anyone else. 8th has always been your home, not 1st." Shunsui could see tears forming in her eyes. "I could never tire of you, Nanao. I never could, you have me forever." He kissed her sweetly as a tear fell down her cheek. "Please don't be upset."

"I'm just upset that you wouldn't tell me about this sooner." Nanao wrapped her arms around him as she leaned into his chest. "I'll have to move my things back into 8th."

"Or you could move them into my house?" Shunsui noticed the surprise run through Nanao's reiatsu. He hadn't felt that since the early days of her being his Fukutaichou back in 8th.

"What do you mean?" Nanao had already been living at his house, but that was mostly because her barrack had been destroyed and was still undergoing repairs.

"Ise Nanao, will you marry me?" He looked into her indigo eyes and watched them light up.

Nanao launched herself into his arms and laughed happily. "Yes!"

Shunsui laughed and spun with Nanao, she could be a child sometimes, but that was mostly his part in their relationship. And it was a treat to see her act so young. "I love you, Nanao."

*CLAP*  
~Flashback end~  
*CLAP*

Shunsui pushed himself off the window sill and towards the desk covered in papers. Lisa was Fukutaichou of 8th, but she hadn't come into work that week, it was always painful on days like this, and on today especially.

He laughed thinking of how all of his most precious memories of her, were on days like this. The pain always came with them, but the sweet happiness that they brought back, was enough of a reward to go through the pain.

~16 years ago~

Shunsui stood at the alter at the end of a long aisle parting a sea of chairs. Each chair was filled with members of the Gotei 13, despite the grey clouds over head.

He was happy that Nanao had agreed to not have a Shinto wedding. He wanted to see her in a puffy white dress. He smiled to himself just thinking of how cute she would look.

"You ready for this my friend?" Shunsui turned to his best friend, Ukitake Jushiro. He had asked him to perform the wedding, and he had, had about the same reaction Nanao had when he proposed. He had been a bit worried for his friend's health.

Shunsui smiled at him. "I've been waiting for this for a long time." He looked towards the door as they opened with the playing music. He sucked in air as he caught sight of Nanao.

Nanao glided down the aisle behind Lisa. She had her eyes stuck on Shunsui. He had a pink tie on with his tux, she had guessed he would, since she had told him not to wear his kimono.

She was a little self conscious about the dress. It had one strap holding the whole thing up. It was lace on the bodice and puffy taffeta on the skirt. She quite liked it, it looked very elegant, and a little bit sexy, but she didn't think it suited her. But Lisa had insisted that this was the perfect dress for her.

She accepted Shunsui's outstretched hand once she reached the alter. She handed Lisa her bouquet of pink flowers before placing her other hand in Shunsui's hand. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"Friends and family of this beloved couple." Jushiro spoke firmly, he was glad he was feeling well today. "We gathered here to witness the union of these two lovely people. If there are any that object to these two being married this day, speak now, or forever hold your peace." Jushiro held his breath hoping none of Shunsui's ex-girlfriends showed up, none did.

Jushiro sighed with relief as he continued. "The couple has writen their own vows, and will now exchange them with each other. Shunsui, you may start." Jushiro smiled at his friend. He hoped he hadn't written anything too...Shunsui like.

Shunsui smiled down at Nanao, she was blushing. "Ise Nanao, my lovely Nanao-chan, you have stayed with me through everything. Kept me from killing my self more than once or twice, more than I am pleased with saying. You have been my strength and my hope.

You are the most beautiful woman in the world, and definitely the smartest when it comes to dealing with me." Laughter rippled through the crowed. "If you will have me, I will always protect you and promise to love you for the rest of my life." Shunsui smiled as he saw Nanao's eyes glisten a bit.

Nanao took another deep breath before started. "Kyoraku Shunsui, you big flirt." Another fit of laughter went through the crowed. "When I first met you, I thought you were sweet, kind, and completely inappropriate with how you treated women. That still hasn't changed, but now I know I am the only woman you will be inappropriate with." She winked at Shunsui and got another laugh from the crowed.

She took another breath, to keep her confidence up. "You have protected me, and taught me to stand on my own. If you will have me, I promise to support you and always stay by your side, forever." She smiled up at him and loved the look he was giving her. She noticed she was getting it more and more often nowadays.

Jushiro smiled at the couple, they were perfect for each other. He turned to Lisa. "The rings."

Lisa stepped towards the couple and gave them the rings, she was acting as both maid of honour and best man. She was glad she was both of their first choices.

Shunsui took the delicate gold and silver swirled band. He lifted Nanao's hand and slid he ring on. "With this ring, I ask you too be mine."

Nanao lifted Shunsui's hand and slid his identical ring onto his ring finger. "With this ring, I accept being yours." She smiled at him, he had a childish grin on his face already.

"By the power vested in me by the Soutaichou of the Gotei 13," He nodded at Shunsui. "I pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride."

Before Jushiro had even finished his last sentence he already had Nanao in his arms.

*Clap*

Rain started to fall as Shunsui placed a gentle kiss on Nanao's lips. He smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck while the rain became heavier. He picked her up in his arms and walked down the soaked aisle towards the reception tents. He listened to the sound of Nanao's laughter with the rain.

*CLAP*  
~Flashback end~  
*CLAP*

Shunsui threw open the doors that led to the porch and the outside world. The rain turned the courtyard into a lake. The sky lit up with lightning as thunder rolled through the distant air. He closed his eyes and leaned against the door as he watched the courtyard fill with more water.

~8 years ago~

Shunsui woke to the sound of shuffling sheets. His ears then tuned into the small cries from the room next to their bedroom. He pulled Nanao back down onto the bed. "I'll take care of her. You get some sleep. You've been getting up for the past few nights."

"Okay." Nanao settled back onto her pillow as she closed her eyes. She smiled thinking of how good of a father Shunsui was being. It was only their first week being at home with the baby. She was definitely exhausted, and he was being very helpful.

Shunsui walked into the pink lit room. They had put in night lights so that they didn't have to turn on the lights at night. He walked over to the crib with his little angel. "Good morning to you too, Akii-chan." He gently picked her up and laid her on his shoulder. She stopped crying once she was on his shoulder.

Shunsui smiled, his little daughter liked him. He patted her back as he waited for her to fall asleep. It took about ten minutes till he heard little snores coming from her. 'Aww! She's so cute!' Shunsui moved to put her back in her crib, but once he took her off of his shoulder, she made a noise again. He cradled her in his arms and smiled down as he met her bright purple eyes.

He sat down on the rocking chair and placed her back on his shoulder. "You don't want to leave your daddy's arms do you, Akii-chan?" He rocked gently as he patted her back. She was soon snoring in his ear again, but he didn't move. He just sat there holding his little girl.

"Is she being fussy?" He looked towards the door and saw Nanao leaning against it's frame. Nanao smiled at her husband and daughter, she had wished for a family like this for a long time.

"No. She just loves her daddy too much." Shunsui smiled as his wife walked towards him. "You should rest. You haven't had a full nights sleep in a while."

"I find it impossible to sleep without my Shunsui beside me." She dramatically leaned on the back of the rocking chair. She enjoyed acting like Shunsui whenever he couldn't react to it, it made her feel empowered.

Shunsui pouted at his wife. "Nanao-chan is being so cute, but it have Akii-chan in my arms and can't hug her. That so mean of you." He smiled when she kissed his cheek. "You missed."

Nanao rolled her eyes as she pressed a kiss to his lips. "You flirt."

Shunsui smiled back at her. "Only for you, Nanao." He stood and walked over to Akii's crib. He gently moved her from his shoulder to her crib. She didn't wake. He leaned on the edge and looked down at his sleeping daughter. She was so cute, curled up with a hand in her curly dark hair.

"Come on. Let's go get some sleep of our own." He felt Nanao lean against his back as she wrapped her arms around his chest. He let her pull him away from the crib and towards their own room.

*Clap*

*baby cries*

Nanao sighed heavily, Shunsui kissed her cheek. "I'll take care of her." He carried Nanao to bed and tucked her in. "Sleep, Nanao." He kissed her lips softly before heading back to his daughter's room. This was going to be a long night.

*CLAP*  
~Flashback end~  
*CLAP*

Shunsui snapped his eyes open. He pulled his still soaked kimono off the hanger and dropped it over his shoulders. The cold water seeping into his dry clothes. He walked out into the storm, not paying attention to where he was going. He just needed to get away from the memories. The memories that clung to him like the rain.

~2 year ago~

Shunsui walked into his old office. He peaked over towards the desk covered in papers. "Nanao-chan? You ready to go?" He had chosen Nanao to go with him on a simple mission. It was just a routine check of stations in the outer Rukongai districts. Nothing dangerous, he would never put his Nanao-chan in danger.

"Just a second. Almost done...and done!" Nanao jumped out from behind her desk. "All of this weeks paperwork is done!" She was proud of herself. She knew Lisa could handle the paperwork while she was gone, she was only going to be gone for a day, but she liked the thought of having all the work done for the week.

"So that is why I woke up to no Nanao-chan this morning. She thought paperwork was more important than her husband." Shunsui easily avoided the book she threw at him, but only the first, smaller, one. He pushed the large encyclopedia off of him. "How can you throw that so easily? I can barely lift it."

Nanao smiled down at him. "Maybe you should carry your paperwork. That book is probably lighter. Jushiro picked Akii up this morning?" She stepped around him and stood by the door. "You coming?"

Shunsui smiled at her as he got up. He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Yep, our little angel is taken care of. Let's go." He picked her up as he stepped into shunpo.

He put her down once they were at the first check point on their route. He held Nanao steady as she rebalanced herself. "I can do that myself you know." She tried to glare at him, but he was grinning at her. "Stop making that face when I'm trying to be mad at you!"

Shunsui gave her a quick kiss on her cheek before walking towards the outpost. He smiled when she grabbed his hand. "It's so sweet that my lovely Nanao-chan wants to hold hands."

"I...I...I just need something to balance with." Nanao looked away as she stammered her excuse. She looked back at him when he gave her hand a small squeeze.

"You don't need an excuse. I'm just happy to have you with me." Shunsui smiled as he pulled his wife along with him.

The next twelve districts where the same as the first twelve, nothing to report. Shunsui was glad there were no incidents, but something kept him from skipping the final outpost.

They walked towards the small building, but they could sense nothing from it. Shunsui placed a hand on his zanpakutou, he noticed Nanao do the same.

*Clap*

Rain began to fall, but they didn't move. They stayed where they were and waited.

*Clap* *CRACK*

They drew their weapons as the small build broke apart. A large Hollow crawled out of its remains. "Taichous? Isn't this a nice surprise? I will devour you both!" The Hollow spoke in a raspy high pitch voice as it lunged at the two shinigami.

Shunsui picked up Nanao with his free hand and moved them out of the way. "Shunsui! I can take care of myself! We need to focus on destroying that Hollow!" Nanao glared at him as he put her down.

"Sorry Nanao. I just needed to make sure you were safe." He kissed her forehead before he turned and drew his wakizashi. "Please stay here." He left before she could give him and answer.

"You're leaving her alone? Just makes it easier for me-" The Hollow stopped when it felt something run though it's tail.

Shunsui could see that the Hollow looked like a snake. He went for the tail to try and slow down its movement. He easily cut through the tail.

"Gah!" The Hollow cried out in pain. "You'll pay for that, shinigami!" The hollow attacked, but Shunsui was faster.

Shunsui cut down the middle of the Hollow's mask. It dissolved with an eery...smile. 'What was she smiling at?'

"SHUNSUI!" He turned and saw the tail he had cut off. It had a face on it, and it was too close for him to block. He watched as the Hollow dissolved and revealed Nanao standing behind it. She had blood covering her uniform and falling down her chin.

"NANAO!" He dropped his zanpakutou and held her as she fell. He felt her blood soak into the front of his uniform. 'She must have been struck through the chest.' He started applying healing kido, but it wasn't doing anything.

"Shun...sui." He looked at Nanao with tears in his eyes. "It's okay...I'll be fine." Nanao gave him a weak smile as she brought her hand up to his cheek. "I love you...Shunsui."

"Nanao." Shunsui didn't hold back his tears as they mixed with the rain. "You're going to be okay. I won't let you die." The kido wasn't doing anything, just prolonging her pain.

"Take care of Akii...She will need her father." Nanao laid her head against Shunsui's chest and listened to his heart. It was strong and steady, even if it was at a fast pace, but it was so familiar to her now.

"She needs her mother too. And I need you just as much." Shunsui held her close as he rocked back and forth on his knees. He was trying to hold himself together, but it wasn't working. "Please don't leave me. I love you, Nanao, so much."

He didn't notice when a search party showed up looking for them. He didn't notice Inoue Orihime, Taichou of 4th squad, asked what happen. He just looked at the peaceful face of his wife in his arms.

*CLAP*  
~Flashback end~  
*CLAP*

Shunsui fell to his knees in tears. He looked up to see where his feet had taken him. Through his tears he could make out the shape of a grave marker. He cried even more hen he read the engravings on it. 'Here lies Kyoraku Nanao. Loving mother and wife. Best friend anyone could ask for. Greatest Boss ever.'

"I'm sorry Nanao. Even though I promised, I couldn't save you, or protect you. I'm sorry, I don't know if I can go on like this. It gets harder with every year, and ever storm. Akii loves the rain just as much as you did. She even made a kido that create a little rain cloud." Shunsui smiled thinking of when she had showed it to him by making his office flood with water.

He cried while he knelt in front of his wife's grave. He didn't notice the small girl standing behind him till she spoke. "Daddy?" He turned and looked at his daughter. She had a pink rain coat with flower rain boots. Her curly black hair poked out from under her hood a bit as it framed her violet eyes, the eyes that reminded him of her mother.

"Akii-chan?" Shunsui thought she was with Jushiro for the day.

"Are you missing mommy too?" Shunsui noticed the red around her eyes as she sniffled, she had been crying too.

Shunsui held out his hand for his daughter. She ran into his arms and cried against his wet kimono. He patted her back as he held her. "It's okay Akii-chan. Mommy may not be here, but she will always be in our hearts." He stood up and held her in his arms. "Let's go home. We'll both catch a cold if we stay out in the rain."

"Okay." Akii wiped her eyes and looked down on her mother's grave. "Bye mommy. I miss you, so much." Akii wiped her eyes again as she sniffled. "I love you mommy."

Shunsui kissed his daughter's cheek. She had been close to her mother, they were a close family.

He looked down on his wife's grave. "I love you, Nanao. I miss you too, but I know I'll see you again." He held his daughter close as she cried into his shoulder softly. "Goodbye, my lovely Nanao-chan."

* * *

*sniffle sniffle* please leave *sniffle* a comment or a question. *cries uncontrollably*

*wipes tears away* Please don't forget *sniffle* to place your vote *sniffle* on which song you think goes with this story. *curls up in small ball and cries* I need to not aim to make myself cry With my own stories. Polling closes February 20, 2014. then I will post the correct answer and the next poll.

* * *

Thank you to all of those that participated in the poll. It was 2. Really guys? So the most voted for song was Bring Me to Life, by Evanescence. That however isn't the song. The song that goes with this story, is Last Kiss, by Taylor Swift. If you don't think that fits, it's understandable. My mind can make strange connections. Like why a raven is like a writing desk. thank you for reading and please check on the poll for the next story in this compilation of stories.


	2. Life Line(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Nanao~

Nanao sat nervously in the warm lit waiting room. She played with her sleeves as she sat and waited to be called into the office. She looked up at the clock, still five more minutes. Her anxiety wasn't helping the situation.

She nearly jumped when the assistant tapped her on the shoulder. "It's your turn my dear." She gave the woman a weak smile as she followed her to the door of the office. She offered the woman another smile as she walked in.

She walked into the office, and was shocked by the colour of it. It had black and dark neutral colours, accented with vibrant shades of pink. It was an even larger surprise to see that the office belonged to a man. He was even wearing a pink shirt. She was too surprised to even say a word, she just stared at him.

"You must be my next appointment." Nanao nodded as she walked towards the black leather couch in the middle of the room. She stood as he walked towards her with a smile on his face. He held out his hand, so she placed her's in his. "Shunsui Kyoraku. It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Ise."

"Pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Kyoraku." Nanao sat down on the couch as he sat down in the chair beside it. She picked up the fluffy pink pillow and ran her fingers throw it. It was as soft as it looked. "Do you like pink?"

"Yep. I find it to be a happy colour, and there are rarely ever any happy things that go through this office in a day." Nanao gave him a weak smile as he opened a note book and sat back in his chair. "Now, let's go over some ground rules. Every now and then I will ask you the stereotypical therapist question, how do you feel? Depending on how much anxiety you feel about the current topic we are talking about, I want you to give me it on a scale from hot to cold. Cold being you are fine and we can continue. Hot being uneasy and you would like to change the topic. If you want to stop at anytime, just say 'tickled pink', okay?"

Nanao understood the hot to cold scale, but a safe word? And why was it 'tickled pink'? "Okay." Nanao continued to run her hand through the pillow, it was a good distraction.

"When did you last have the bandages on your wrists changed?" Nanao looked at him in surprise, she had covered them up and he had never looked at them. How did he know about them?

"I just changed them the other day." Nanao shifted in her seat, she was already uncomfortable, and they hadn't even started talking about the main issue.

Nanao noticed him taking notes, but she couldn't guess what they could possible be about.

"Okay then. Let's begin, shall we?" Nanao returned his smile weakly. He was fairly comfortable to be around, he just talked about uncomfortable things. "When did you first meet Mr. Aizen?"

Nanao took a shaky breath before starting. "We were taking several classes together in our junior year of university. Both of us were studying to be engineers. We just started talking and working together.

"Soon it became more than just a friendship. He would pick me up in the morning, we would go for coffee, then head to class. Some days he would take me out to dinner, and others he would bring me back to his house and cook." Nanao smiled as she remembered the early months of her previous relationship.

"Sounds like a good relationship." Nanao's smile faded, she had been naive enough to think that too. "When did you start noticing the change in his behaviour?"

"At about the six month mark. We got put on different teams for our final project. By the end I was doing it alone, because all of my team members had either dropped the class, or were in the hospital because of an accident. At first it seem just like a stream of unfortunate incidents, but he always seemed to know when one of my team members wasn't going to be there." Nanao slipped off her shoes and pulled her knees up to her chest.

"How do you feel?" Nanao thought about the question and the scale before answering.

"Refreshed." She was comfortable with the current topic, but she knew it was going to turn worse.

"Okay. How quickly did these incidents progress in severity?" Nanao crossed her legs, trying to find a comfortable position under his ever present gaze.

"By the third month, none of the men in the engineering program would even look at me. And most of the girls avoided me as well. They all seemed to be frightened of me." Nanao had never felt as alone as she had during that time. "That was when Sosuke started paying less attention to me. So I would try harder to try and attract it, but nothing seemed to work."

"What happened when it did?" Nanao thought back to when she had finally gotten his attention back.

"I'm not proud of it. I made sure he saw me flirting with an old friend of mine. He was in the accounting program. I'm pretty sure Sosuke was the one that put him in the hospital." Nanao nearly cried thinking of what Kira had yelled at her when she went to visit him in the hospital. "Sosuke never let me out of his sight after that. He also moved me into his apartment. I didn't think anything was off, I was too happy, he was paying attention to me."

Nanao sniffled and accepted the tissue box Shunsui offered her. She blew her nose before continuing. "He never asked for anything, just that I was back in the apartment before midnight. That was reasonable, I was never a late night person and was usually in bed before 11. He also gave me my own room. He wasn't pushy about the relationship." She blew her nose again, the worse part was coming up.

"Did it start getting worse after that? What happened?" Nanao panicked a little, she wasn't ready to talk about that.

"Tickled pink." She pulled her knees up to her chin again. She pressed her eyes to her knees as she felt tears soak into her jeans.

"Okay. You did good." She looked up when she felt a gentle hand rest on her shoulder. She found herself looking into a pair of brown eyes. They were different than Sosuke's, they were warm and gentle. They made her feel safe. "We can stop there for today."

"I'm okay to continue. Just not about that." Nanao was surprised with herself, she usually wasn't an open person. No, she was an open person, before she met Sosuke. "Can we talk more?"

"Of course." Nanao was slightly sad when he removed his hand and sat back down in the chair away from her. She liked the warmth of his hand on her shoulder, it was comforting. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Aren't you suppose to be bringing up the subjects to talk about?" Nanao had never been to a therapist before, she had never needed one. "Isn't that why my doctor told me to meet with you? So you could find out why I tried to kill myself."

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I won't talk about other things. It's fairly obvious why you did what you did. Mr. Aizen made you feel inferior or otherwise an unfit choice for him. He isolated you so you could only rely on him, then he broke you down and built you back up to what he wanted you to be." Nanao was surprised at how right he was. No wonder he was a professional. "I'm guessing by your expression that I am close. And by deducting that you are a smart woman, you calculated that the only way option you still had to make, was when you could stop living the nightmare of a life you were stuck in. Am I right?"

Nanao was completely shocked, he had read her like a book. She looked away from him as she laid down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. She had never been read so easily, she prided herself with that. 'But he's a professional. It's his job to read people.' Nanao sighed as she pulled the pillow close to her chest a buried her chin in it, it tickled her cheeks.

"So what does the pretty lady want to talk about?" Nanao looked at him curiously. She was wearing a pair of casual jeans, a white blouse and sweater vest, and a pair of converse. Her hair was in a messy bun and she had her glasses on. How could he possibly think of her as pretty?

"I'm not pretty." She hid her face more with the pillow, so she couldn't see him.

She heard a chair scrape across the carpet. "Why is that?" She moved the pillow so that one of her eyes was uncovered, but she still didn't look at him. "Why don't you think of yourself as beautiful?"

"Because I'm not. I'm ordinary and plain. Nothing any man would want." Nanao repeated the same words she had heard spoken to her constantly.

"That's not true." Nanao taken by surprise, it almost sounded like he was mad at her. "You are most certainly not ordinary. Ordinary women wouldn't pick engineering as a career. Ordinary women would choose cosmetics or singing as a career. Something easy, not something worthwhile or challenging."

Nanao was touched by his words. Did he really mean that?

"And saying no man would be interested in you, I think you have already proven that to be untrue. If it was, would Mr. Aizen have tried so hard to intimidate the other men to stay away from you?" Nanao thought about it seriously. Shunsui was right, if she wasn't attractive, Sosuke probably wouldn't even have bothered with her to begin with. "See. You just proved that you are an extraordinarily beautiful and attractive woman."

Nanao laughed a bit at his statement. He was definitely a flirt outside of his office hours.

"Now that is a beautiful sound. When was the last time you laughed?" Nanao thought back, but found herself going much farther than she had hoped. She frowned as she tried to find a time, but she couldn't. "That long?"

"Yeah. I've been living with relatives since I was twelve. Always jumping from family to family. I never stayed with one for more than a year or two." Nanao wasn't that close with her extended family. "My mother and father weren't married when I was born. My father didn't want a daughter, but he didn't want to abandon my mother and leave her with a child to raise on her own. So he stuck around, but once my mother passed away, he didn't stick around. He left me with my grandparents and never came back."

"That's terrible. What did your mother die from?" Nanao wasn't sure why her father never told her what her mother was sick with. She had to do research to find out.

"It was cancer in her lungs. She didn't want to go through chemo, so she just stayed home and let it take her." Nanao didn't cry over it anymore, she had already cried about it enough. "My grandfather was the one that inspired me to be an engineer. He was one, and he would teach me about it when ever I was bored or sick."

Nanao smiled remembering what her grandfather had taught her. She liked when he would build things that did little everyday tasks. Her favourite was the one that turned on the sprinklers in the backyard. She would always try to race against it so she wouldn't get wet. Her grandfather would always grab her and hold her while they both got soaked, laughing with her the entire time.

"He sounds like a great man." Nanao turned her smile to Shunsui, he was smiling at her too.

"He was. Both of them died in a car crash several years ago. I used to visit them every summer. Well, really I would move back in with them, till another set of relatives would get assigned to take me in for the next school year." Nanao sat up and placed the pillow in her lap. She ran her hands through it as she thought of what to say, but nothing came.

"Anything else you want to talk about, Miss Ise?" Nanao smiled at the brown haired man sitting close to her. He was a nice guy, one she wouldn't mind getting to know better. But he was her therapist, and that wasn't appropriate.

"Not right now. Maybe another time?" Nanao was happy to be able to see him again. Even if it was to discuss unpleasant things.

"Sure. Lisa can book you in for another appointment at the front desk." Nanao followed him to the door of his office. She took his extended hand again, but he didn't shake it, he brought it to his lips and placed a feather light kiss on it. "Till next time, Nanao. Have a nice day."

Nanao walked away a bit confused, but happy. He was a gentleman, and she liked it, a lot. She sighed as she remembered that he was her therapist, and could be nothing more.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui hummed as he collected his paperwork. He tore out the sketches from his notebook. He had gotten a very nice one of Ise Nanao. She was very beautiful, almost like a picture. He placed it and the rest he had drawn that day in his briefcase.

He didn't take notes about his patients, but instead took sketches of their most used facial expressions. Actions speak louder than words. And most of the sketches were spot on to what his patients were feeling that day.

He walked out of his office and locked his door. He checked in with his secretary so he could mark when his appointments were. "So what so I have planned for tomorrow Lisa?" He pulled out his phone so he could record them there.

He was proud of how up-to-date he was with the current technology, but Lisa seemed to be more of a techie than he was. "You have Byakuya Kuchiki at 10:30, a lunch meeting with Jushiro Ukitake, and Nanao Ise at 2:10." Lisa typed furiously on her keyboard. Shunsui was surprised to find that the events she had listed were already in his phone. "I sent you an email and your phone automatically adds it to your calendar."

Shunsui smiled at his secretary. "Thank you Lisa. Have a good evening." He walked out of his office with a grin, today had been a good day.

The next day Shunsui walked into his office with his head held high and whistled as he walked. All he had today was a man with a serious case of narcissism, lunch with his best friend, and another meeting with the lovely lady Nanao. He was quite happy with the progress they were making, but sad that he couldn't peruse her romantically. He was her therapist after all, dating her just wasn't professional.

Shunsui was glad when his first appointment was finally over.

"Long day already Shun?" Shunsui looked toward the white haired figure of his oldest friend, Ukitake Jushiro. "You look worn out."

"Just an early start of my day." Shunsui wasn't a morning person, and he considered everything that happened before noon to be morning. "So, where are we going for lunch?"

"I thought we could try the little cafe down the road. It looks like a quiet little place." Shunsui smiled at his friend, he really knew what he liked.

"Then let's go!" Shunsui walked towards the doors of his office with his friend in tow.

"You seem to be in a good mood. Is it a woman?" Shunsui smiled at his friend as he pushed open the door to the office building."It is! Tell me all about her!"

"Well we aren't really together. We can't be together. She's a patient." Shunsui began while walking down the road.

He remembered the little cafe quite well. Little Taste of Sugar, it was bright pink and looked like a candy store from the outside. He had wanted to take Lisa there, but she didn't like sweet things.

"Well that complicates things. Do you like her enough to break the rules?" Shunsui thought seriously about the question as they walked into the cafe. He did, but he didn't want to cause any problems with the head office.

"Welcome! How many?" Shunsui went to reply to the sweet voice, but stopped when he caught sight of the waitress. Her hair was pinned back in a perfect bun and her violet eyes smiled at him. "Mr. Kyoraku?"

"Miss Ise. It's nice to see you again so soon. There is only two of us." Shunsui was surprised to see her here. He would never have guessed she worked at a little cafe like this.

"Right this way please." Shunsui followed Nanao to a table out in the courtyard of the cafe. Pink roses were blooming everywhere. "I thought you would like to be outside. It's such a nice day out, and the flowers look especially beautiful today."

"Yes they are. But not as beautiful as another flower in this garden." Shunsui smiled at Nanao, she seemed to blush at his comment. 'Much too cute.'

Shunsui sat down at the table Nanao led them to and took the menu she offered him. "Today's special is Rose water tea, and our specialty dessert for the day is a mixed berry open crepe with fresh whip cream."

"That's sounds delicious." Shunsui chuckled at his friend. Jushiro had a really big sweet tooth.

"I guess we're both having a Rose water tea and a crepe." Shunsui passed his menu back to Nanao. "How are you feeling today?" He didn't mean the question to be that one, but that was what came out. He was mentally punching himself, he didn't mean to sound professional.

"Cold as ice." He smiled as she replied with a genuine smile as she walked off to tell the kitchen their order.

"Well that was strange." Shunsui laughed at his friend's confused face. "Did I miss something?"

"That's the question I ask all of my patients when we're talking. It's to gauge how comfortable they are with the conversation or the situation." Shunsui knit his fingers together and leaned on them. The sun was shining on his back and making him comfortably warm. "I like this place."

"We haven't even eaten yet. Or is it the staff that you like?" Shunsui smiled with his friend.

He felt his chair move, but he couldn't see anyone behind him when he looked. He shrugged it off as his chair slipping.

"Two Rose water teas and two mix berry crepes." Shunsui smiled as a girl laid the order on front of them. "You dropped this." She placed a note beside Shunsui and walked away.

"Wonder where Nanao went?" Shunsui picked up the sheet of paper. He hadn't dropped it, but he guessed it was for him. It was addressed to 'pink shirt bastard'. He opened the note. 'Stay away from Ise Nanao.' The note confused him, who would tell him that?

Shunsui looked around, but he didn't know what he was looking for. Nanao had never described Sosuke Aizen to him. He waved down a waitress. "Were is Ise Nanao?"

"She just left. Her shift ended." Shunsui thanked the waitress, at least Nanao wasn't here anymore, but he wasn't sure if Sosuke still was.

"What's wrong?" Shunsui met the worried eyes of his friend.

Shunsui smiled and shrugged of the bad feeling he was getting. "It's nothing. Just a bit of pointless worry I guess."

Shunsui could tell his friend didn't buy his excuse. He finished his crepe, payed for the lunch and went back to his office.

"Lisa, let Miss. Ise in as soon as she gets here." He walked into his office and got his papers ready. It was almost 2, so he wouldn't have to wait long. But after half an hour, he started to worry. He picked up his phone and pressed '0' for Lisa. "Give me Miss Ise's contact number."

"I can call her-" Shunsui cut her off with a glare through the security camera Lisa had installed in his office. "Fine."

Shunsui wrote down the number and hung up as soon as he had it down. He dialled the number and waited for her to pick up.

It was answered on the second ring, but it wasn't a woman. "Ise Nanao's residence. How can I help you?" Shunsui didn't know Nanao had a boyfriend. He wondered why it had never come up in their discussion the other day. But then again, it was only their first session.

Shunsui cleared his voice. "This is Shunsui Kyoraku, her therapist. May I speak with Miss. Ise?"

"Of course." Shunsui was getting sick of the man's voice. It was to sweet and well controlled. "It's for you Nanao."

'Of course it is, idiot. It's her house.' Shunsui kept his discontentment to himself, the man was still on the other end.

"Hello?" He smiled at the sound of Nanao's voice, it sounded hopeful. And maybe a bit relieved.

"It's Shunsui Kyoraku. You missed our meeting today. How are you feeling?" He was hoping to get a clue about how she was doing. Warning lights were starting to go off in his head.

Shunsui was a little confused by the chipper laugh she gave. "I'm tickled pink of course. Sorry about missing the meeting. I had something-" The phone line went dead.

Shunsui hung up and rushed out of his office. "Did Nanao leave a home address?" He walked around his secretary's desk and stood over her shoulder looking at her computer screen.

"Why?" Shunsui didn't answer her question.

And he was glad she brought up Nanao's patient records anyway. He skimmed through the file till he came to a home address. It was the apartment complex about five blocks away. "Call the police and tell them to head there. Say there is an intruder there." Shunsui grabbed his coat and ran out of the office.

He got to the apartment and found the police already there. He saw the officers drag a man out and push him into a police van. He guessed that was Sosuke, but now his thoughts turned to Nanao. He walked up to the apartment complex. 'Please be safe.'

~Nanao~

Nanao could hear a beeping sound as she regained feeling in her limbs. Most of them hurt, and some she couldn't move because of the pain. She slowly opened her eyes and wasn't surprised to find herself in a hospital, again.

"Good to see that your finally awake." Nanao looked towards the door, Shunsui Kyoraku stood in it. "How do you feel?"

Nanao smiled at the question, she was sure it had probably saved her life. "Safely incased in ice." She smiled as Shunsui sat down beside her bed.

But it faded when she noticed the serious look on his face. "I'm afraid I can't continue to be your therapist." Her jaw dropped. "I have a rule about not dating the patients I have, and I can't seem to help myself, I love you. I understand if you think of me as a hopeless romantic to believe in love at first sight, but-" Nanao put a hand against his mouth, his soft lips kissed her palm.

Nanao found herself blushing. "Of course I think of you as a hopeless romantic, and that would mean that I am also one." Nanao bit her lip as she tried to think of what to say. "I don't know if I love you, but would like to find out."

She smiled at the man beside her. "Then will you go on a date with me? Once you get out of the hospital and that bastard goes to prison of course."

Nanao had forgotten about Sosuke. She sighed as a police officer walked in to the room. "Miss Ise? This is a court order for you."

"Court order?" Nanao took the paper from him and read through it. "He's claiming he did nothing?! That son of a bitch! I inflicted all of the wounds myself and he got his injuries trying to stop me?! More like the other way around bastard!" She was furious, and her anger just increased as she went down the list. She growled in frustration once she got to the end. "When is the first court date?"

"August 12th ma'am." Nanao thanked him as she rubbed her forehead. Her fight was far from over.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked towards Shunsui. "It's okay. My friend is one of the best attorneys in the city. He'll help you."

"I'm going to need the best to beat Sosuke. He has a silver tongue and a snake like charm." Nanao knew she couldn't afford a good enough lawyer. She was only able to afford the therapy because of the money her grandparents had left her with. But that was almost gone.

"He is the best. Jushiro Ukitake, the longest friend I have ever had." Nanao looked at him in amazement. His best friend was the top ranked lawyer in the city?! That was as impressive as being the best ranked lawyer in the country. "Plus I'm sure Lisa has already found enough evidence against Mr. Aizen. She isn't an ex-police investigator for nothing."

"Ex-police investigator?" Nanao hadn't realized that the quiet woman running Shunsui's office had been a police officer before.

"Yeah. Got injured on the job, but never gave up the habits. She already has a twenty page portfolio on you I'm afraid." Nanao was shocked, there was that much information about her?

She smiled at his worry about her, he really wanted to help her. "Thank you, Shunsui."

"No problem, Nanao." She felt his hand close over her's, but she was too focused on his eyes, his warm brown eyes. "We'll get through this. I'll make sure of it." She could see that he meant it, every word of it.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.

* * *

Polling for this story is now up. It will be closed as of March 6, 2014. So put your vote in and see if you got it right. Good luck to all.

So I got rid of the poll, because no he was bothering to do it. So I am not going to tell till I put up another story. I don't know when that will be. But it probably won't be long.


	3. Firsts

I do not own Bleach.

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~Nanao~

Nanao was a bit surprised at where she was. She was laying on a pink kimono, looking up at the stars while laying her head on a very muscular arm. That arm was attached to a very tanned and tone chest. And on the chest sat a head covered by a sakkat. But she knew exactly what his face looked like, she saw it almost everyday.

His chin covered in soft fuzz with a lazy smile breaking through it. His rich brown eyes that looked like melted chocolate. His hair that looked so silky soft, but never daring to touch it.

'How did I even get here?' Nanao thought back to about an hour ago.

~1 hour ago~

Nanao sat at her desk filling out paperwork. She was surprised she hadn't been interrupted today.

"Nanao-chan!" She dropped her head onto the desk, she had spoken too soon. "Nanao-chan!" She looked towards the door as he glided in with a red oculus grin plastered on his face. "There is my dear, sweet, lovely Nanao-chan. Why are you still working? It's almost 11:30."

Nanao fixed her glasses and squared away the papers again. "Because someone didn't come into the office today till right now." She fixed him with a mild glare before returning to her work. But it wasn't on her desk anymore. "Please give me back my work, Soutaichou."

"Not until you've had a break. You work too hard, Nanao-chan." Nanao gave him a more severe glare. "A two hour break, then you can get back to work, or you can go home and get some rest."

Nanao sighed as she got up from her desk. "Fine. I'm going to go read."

"Nope. That still uses your brain. Your coming stargazing with me." Nanao was surprised to find herself being picked up. Was she that lightweight?

"Soutaichou! Put me down! This is not appropriate in anyway whatsoever!" Nanao tried to wiggle her way off of his shoulder, but he was a lot stronger than she had first assumed. She gave up and just hung off of his shoulder. "Fine, but only two hours-" she stopped when she saw the world spinning out behind her, he was using shunpo.

"We're here. The perfect stargazing spot." Nanao was glad she was being put back on her feet, but they were unsteady. "You okay, Nanao-chan?"

She glared at the grin he had on his face. "Warn me next time."

"My Nanao-chain wants to go stargazing again with me? I'm so happy!" Nanao rolled her eyes as he took off his pink kimono and laid it out on the ground. "Come lay with me Nanao-chan."

"I doubt you even know what your saying." Nanao had read that phrase in quite a few books, none of the people that said it meant stargazing, or anything that could be done outside of their bedroom.

~1 hour later~

Nanao pulled her eyes away from him. She needed to get that work done, but she didn't want to leave. 'I doubt he even feels the same way. He's just keeping this up because I haven't given in to him yet.' She shifted her gaze up to the stars, trying to get the man beside her off of her mind.

"What is my lovely Nanao-chan thinking about?" Nanao turned and met his rich brown eyes. "You can tell me, Nanao-chan."

'Now or never.' Nanao took a deep breath before quickly giving him a kiss on the cheek. She retreated away from his arms before he could pull her into a hug. "Thank you. For always being there for me."

"I think that is suppose to be my line, Nanao-chan." Nanao smiled at him. He was sittin up and looking at her with a lopsided smile. She found it just as attractive as his childish grin. "What are you thinking about?"

Nanao turned towards him and took a shaky breath. "Close your eyes."

~Shunsui~

Shunsui closed his eyes with a slight frown, what was Nanao planning? He sat still as he felt her move close to listened to her steady breathing as she just sat in front of him, this was agonizing.

He felt the weight of his sakkat leave his head. He then felt her hands on his shoulders, but one left it. He felt his hair loosen from its tie and pins. He smiled as he felt her small delicate hands run through his hair.

"Did my Nanao-chan just want to play with my hair?" Shunsui asked jokingly as she continued to run her hand through his hair.

He didn't get a reply, just a pair of soft lips against his own. He held himself back from pulling her close to him, he was going to let her do what felt comfortable to her, but he couldn't help himself from looking at her.

"Nanao?" He saw her tear stained face as she smiled at him. "Please tell me what's wrong." He held her cheek in his hand as he wiped her tears away. "Please." He leaned close to her lips and pressed another small kiss to them.

He smiled as she returned his kiss. He held her as she tried to breath through her tears. "Do you love me?" He was surprised by the question to say the least. How could she not know he loved her?

"Of course I love you, Nanao. How could you think otherwise?" He pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her. "I will always love you."

He kissed her hair as he felt her arms wrap around him and her head rest just below his chin, she fit perfectly in his arms.

"I just needed to hear it." Shunsui smiled. He pulled Nanao into his lap and kissed her fore head.

"I promise to always tell you, Nanao." He tilted her head up and kissed her gently. "Does Nanao-chan love me too?"

~Nanao~

Nanao bit her lip as she thought of his question. Did she love him? "Yes. I was just scared of getting hurt."

"I would never hurt you, Nanao. I will always protect you, I promise." She smiled at the truth in his words.

"With all of the promises you're making, one might think you were married to me." Nanao laughed a bit, but stopped once she saw the surprised face Shunsui was making.

"Is my Nanao-chan proposing to me?" Nanao blushed as she looked away from him.

"NO! That should be your job." Nanao blushed again realizing what she had said. "I...I mean...the man should be the one to proposed, not the woman." She fidgeted as she tried to correct herself.

She blushed again when Shunsui kissed her cheek and whispered in her ear. "Does my Nanao-chan want me to propose to her? What would my Nanao chan say if I did?"

Nanao thought of what she would say if he did. "I don't know." She looked into his eyes and saw only love, it made her smile. "I love you, but I'm scared."

She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips to hers. She kept them closed when he pulled away. "It's okay. We can work on that." She kissed him again as he laid back down. She rested her head on his chest and listened to his heart. "So when do you want the wedding to be?"

Nanao couldn't help herself from laughing. "I don't consider that a proposal."

She smiled as she felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle. "Of course my lovely Nanao-chan wouldn't. How would you like me to propose?" She contemplated his question.

She smiled as she remembered her childhood dream. "Take me out to dinner, then get down on one knee and ask." Nanao smiled even more as imagined him dressed in a suit and asking her to marry him.

"As my Nanao-chan wishes. Where would you like to go for dinner?" Nanao thought of where she wanted to eat.

A thought struck her. "Your home." Shunsui had brought her home cooked meals often when she worked late.

She saw the surprise on his face, then a grin spread across his face. "Does Nanao-chan have other things planned for after the dinner?"

She blushed and punched him in the arm, reflexes were wonderful sometimes. "No! Nothing like that!" She rolled away from him and stood ups he brushed herself off as she checked her watch. "Oh look, it's been two and a half hours. Time to get back to work."

"But Nanao-chan! We were just about to start planning our wedding!" Nanao laughed at his whining tone. "Nanao-chan is so cruel to me."

"I'm sure you'll recover." Nanao looked at him one last time before stepping into shunpo. She found herself getting picked up after her first step. When her eyes refocused, she found herself in front of her barrack. "I was going back to the office."

"But you seemed tired, so I brought you home." Nanao rolled her eyes at his thoughtfulness.

She was tired, she hadn't gotten a full night's sleep in weeks. "Thank you, Shunsui." She found herself pressed against the door to her barrack and her lips pressed against Shunsui's.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui released Nanao's lips reluctantly, he was having trouble holding himself back. "Sorry. That was the first time you said my name. I couldn't help myself." He smiled as he held Nanao close to him.

"Tonight is a lot of firsts." Shunsui thought through the evening.

This was the first time he had successfully gotten Nanao to take a break, the first time he got her to relax with him, the first time she told him she loved him, and the first time they had kissed. Shunsui smiled as he leaned down and kissed her again. "And what lovely firsts they are."

"Good night, Shunsui." He let her pull away from him and slid through the door of her barrack.

"Good night, Nanao. Sleep well." He grinned as she smiled and closed her door. He walked away with a smile plastered onto his face. "So many more firsts to come. Can't wait." Shunsui skipped to his house, whistling the whole way.

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Thought I would write something happy. Please leave a comment or a question, if you have one.


	4. No More(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

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Nanao sat at the bar in a pair of jeans and a halter top. She had her hair down and curled with light make up and no glasses. She wasn't trying to pick up a man, she was trying to hide from one. One that visited this same bar often, the one that had broken her heart.

She picked up her drink and took a sip. She thought of when she had first met him. It had been in that very same bar. How had it all fallen apart so easily? She finished her drink as she thought back to that first meeting.

~3 years ago~

Nanao followed her friend into the bar. "Rangiku, why did you bring me here?" Nanao looked around the room as eyes were down to the pair. She wore a sundress with a pair of flats. He hair was pinned in a bun and her eyes were hidden behind glasses. She wasn't a bar person, she didn't even drink.

"Come on! You need to relax more. Two martinis please." Nanao sighed as her strawberry blond friend skipped towards the bar.

"Not your type of scene?" Nanao turned to see who the deep, melodic voice belonged to. She found a man with a pink shirt and tied back brown hair. He was a dream boat. "What would the pretty girl rather be doing?"

"I would rather be studying or reading a book." Nanao fixed her glasses as she studied him farther.

His face had a bit of scruff, but it looked soft. His smile was warm and inviting, probably a flirt. His eyes sparkled, probably immature. His soft brown hair looked positively touchable.

"A bookworm? Don't get many of those through here. Did your friend bring you?" Nanao looked towards the direction he was pointing to.

Her jaw dropped, Rangiku was flirting with two guys, with four empty glasses behind her. She face palmed as she mentally punched herself. Why had she believed Rangiku when she had said they were only going to have a single drink then go back to their apartment? Had she really expected her well endowed friend to not flirt with men?

"Have a seat." Nanao nearly jumped when he placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get you a drink."

"N...no thank you. I'm not much of a drinker anyway." She took a step away from him as she felt her face flush. "I should go get her before she does something stupid." She kept looking at him as she stepped away from him. Why was she getting nervous?

She turned and saw her friend draped over a familiarly silver haired man. She sighed with relief. "Who's he?" She nearly jumped again.

"He's her boyfriend, Gin Ichimaru. At least I know she isn't going home with a stranger." Nanao pulled his arm off of her shoulder. She realized she didn't even know his name. "What is your name? If you don't mind my asking."

"How rude of me." Nanao was surprised when he took her hand and kissed the top of it. "Shunsui Kyoraku. Pleasure to meet you."

"Na...na...Nanao I...Ise. Pleasure." Nanao found herself unable to look at him anymore. 'I'm probably blushing like an idiot.'

"A pretty name, for a pretty woman." Found his arm around her shoulder again. She frowned as she removed it again. "Awe. Nanao is being cold, and we just introduced ourselves."

"Just because we introduced ourselves, doesn't mean we're friends." Nanao began walking towards the door, but found her hand still trapped in Shunsui's. "May I have my hand back?"

"But then you'll leave. And I want to get to know you better. Then I can be your friend." Nanao was surprised by his honest nature. He seemed friendly and genuine.

"Maybe another time? Then you can buy me that drink." Nanao was a little surprised to find herself using one of Rangiku's own lines, but it seemed to fit the situation. She smiled and winked at him, just for added measure.

She watched as a smile spread across Shunsui's face as he released her hand. "Then you'll probably want this." He handed her a card, it was for a law firm in town. "Tell my secretary who you are and she'll give you my personal number." She blushed as he winked back at her. "Give me a call when you want that drink."

Nanao smiled as she turned and left the bar. She looked back one last time and saw him still smiling at her. She held herself back from skipping home, but it didn't stop her from grinning till her face hurt.

* * *

Nanao waved at the bar tender and asked for another drink. She took a mouth full and let the drink sit in her mouth. She didn't mind the taste of alcohol anymore. It had bugged her at first, but it started to grow on her. She ignored the men sitting beside her and focused on her drink.

The bar tender put a drink down in front of her. "It's from the couple at the door."

Nanao looked towards the door and saw Rangiku and Gin standing there. Both gave her a wide smile, they didn't know. No one did, probably not even Shunsui. Even though he was the reason she was drinking tonight. She gave them both a smile as she toasted to them. They left with a smile, while Nanao's turned to a frown.

She finished her first drink and began on the martini Rangiku had given her. She laughed to herself as she took a sip. It was the same drink that Shunsui had bought her on their first date. Back when he would be at home with her on Friday nights.

~2 years ago~

Nanao fidgeted in her dress. It had one sleeve and a ruffle going down the same side with a gather at her hip. Rangiku had loaned her the dress.

She had called Shunsui the other night, his secretary had been really nice. She would really like to get to know Lisa better. Shunsui had said he would pick her up and take her to dinner. She guessed this could have been considered a date.

She saw a car pull up, was that a Ferrari? She shook herself as she saw him step out from the driver's side and towards her door.

"Good luck Nanao!" She glared at her roommate. She had been teasing her all day about her date. Nanao guessed Gin was coming over, since her roommate was anxious and dressed in a bathrobe.

"Don't do anything too crazy. I don't want to hear another story from the neighbours about your nightly activities with your boyfriend." Nanao was still creeped out by the details her next door neighbour had given her. She had always though of Mr. Aizen as a stalker.

*DING DONG*

Nanao walked to the door and opened it wide. She lost her breath at the sight of him. His face was unshaven, but well kept, and his hair was tied back, as usual. He looked like a god under the bright porch light. "Hi." She said breathlessly while leaning on the door.

She quickly snapped out of her daze and turned to put her shoes on. She slid into her heels and zipped them shut. She was certain she was going to break something in those shoes, but Rangiku insisted on them, since they matched. She walked back to the door with her purse in hand.

"DON'T HURRY BACK!" Nanao nearly fell down the stairs, but Shunsui caught her. She growled thinking of how she was going to get back at Rangiku for that.

"She seems like a nice roommate." Nanao smiled as he lead her to the passenger side of the Ferrari, it really was a Ferrari! He opened the door for her and she climbed in, he was a gentleman.

"She can be, when she doesn't want me out of the house." Nanao was admiring the car, she had always dreamed of being in high end sports cars. And this one was no exception, a Ferrari 599. Not her favourite, but it was a Ferrari. "Nice car."

"The dealer didn't have a 911." She eyed him and wondered if he knew he was talking about two different types of cars.

She stayed silent as he started the engine, she smiled at the sound of it. "You would have rather have had a Porsche 911 than a Ferrari 599? Personally I would have chosen a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, or a Pagani Huayra." She had her list of cars, unlike most girls. They just complemented the guy on his car.

Nanao noticed his eyebrow raise. "So the bookworm knows cars too? I am definitely getting to know you better, Nanao." She blushed a bit as he flashed a smile at her. She just watched the city move past them until he pulled up to a restaurant.

She found her door being opened and a hand extended for her to take. She took the hand and climbed out of the car. She looked towards the restaurant, Seireitei, she recognized it, it was the most expensive and ritzy restaurant in the city. She found an arm extended for her too take. "Shall we?"

Nanao smiled as she looped her arm through Shunsui's. She managed to walk normally beside him as he led her into the restaurant. He opened all of the doors and never let to of her arm, she quite liked that.

"Name please?" Nanao looked around as Shunsui spoke with the host. "Right this way please, Mr. Kyoraku."

Nanao looked around as they walked through the restaurant to their table. She sat down in the chair Shunsui pulled out for her. 'I like the gentleman act. Wonder how long he will keep it up?' Nanao accepted the menu she was given, she was puzzled to see the prices weren't listed.

"No need to worry about he cost. It's my treat." Nanao raised an eyebrow at him, had he read her mind, or had he brought other girls here as well. "You know, I have never met a girl like you before, not in a bar at least. How did you know about the cars? Most girls would have just said how depressing that was. And very few realize that they are two different makes. Even fewer give their own opinion on the cars, and none except you have ever given their own choice of car."

Nanao was surprised at how I depth his thinking was, he had certainly earned his job, and his car. "My dad loved cars. He would take me to shows and tell me all about the ones we saw. I'm actually thinking of getting into the automotive trade. Building and designing them of course. I'm not a showroom girl." Nanao skimmed through the menu again, trying to decide what she wanted, and to distract her from the pair of eyes watching her.

"I would definitely stop if you were in a showroom." Nanao blushed as she pulled the menu higher up to hide her face. She let it get pulled back down by a single finger. "And she looks even cuter when she blushes."

Nanao was going to argue back, but a waiter had appeared. "What would you like to drink this evening?"

"Scotch for me, and a midnight Martini for the lady." Nanao didn't know what drink he had ordered for her, but she found herself trusting his choice.

"Do you often bring girls here?" Nanao closed her menu having decided on the scallops and asparagus.

"Actually, you are the first girl I have brought here on a date. Because unlike the other girls, you aren't focused on getting in bed with me." Nanao found her face almost hitting the floor. "There's my point. You aren't looking for a one night stand, you're looking for something more. I would like to be that something more."

Nanao collected herself as the waiter brought out their drinks. "Have you decided what you would like to eat?" The waiter looked towards her expectantly.

"I'll have the scallops and asparagus." Nanao smiled at the waiter as she handed him her menu.

"Seafood medley for me, and can you bring out a bottle of Rose, 1970ish please." Nanao didn't know what kind of wine he had asked for, but guessed he knew what he was getting.

She took a sip of her martini, it was good. 'Definitely getting this again.' She took another sip and closed her eyes as she enjoyed it.

* * *

Nanao looked down at her empty martini glass, she could really use another.

"You most certainly aren't shy..." Nanao perked up as she swirled around in her chair. She didn't see anyone at first, but she quickly found the source once he spoke again. "...and she's even cuter when she is blushing." Nanao glared at Shunsui from across the bar.

"Working late my ass." Nanao turned around and asked for another martini. She turned back to face Shunsui once she had her drink in hand.

She made eye contact and smiled at him. He smiled back and winked. 'Does he know who I am?' Nanao suppressed her usual reaction and acted like other girls she had seen him with. It had been almost two months since he started going around behind her back. Flirting just like tonight.

Nanao turned away once he broke eye contact. "So much for wanting something more." Nanao sipped her martini and let the fruity liquid seep into her taste buds. She heard girly laughter behind her and held herself back from sighing, her night wasn't over yet. "You have anything stronger Starrk?"

The bartender walked towards her with a sad smile. "Rough night, or the man again?" Nanao returned his smile as she finished her martini in one gulp. "That bad huh? Anything stronger than another martini and I don't think you'll make it home."

"I'm not worried about that. Right now I just want to forget, or get enough courage to finally be rid of the bastard." Nanao heard footsteps approaching, a perk of her starting to get tipsy, her senses seemed to improve. "Speaking of which." She turned and came face to face with the main source of her drinking problem. "Hello there Shunsui. Having a nice evening with...um...what would your name be? Your not the same girl as last nights. Oh wait...that would have been myself."

"Na...nanao?" Nanao gave him a smile, then punched his face.

"What are you doing?!" Nanao turned to the girl. She was pretty, blond, and wore a flimsy little dress that left nothing to the imagination.

"Just a bit of justice." Nanao smiled as she grabbed her wallet and stepped off of the bar stool. "Have a nice life, Shunsui."

Nanao walked out of the bar ignoring the shouts that came from it. She smiled as she walked down the empty road, she never felt so free before. "Time for a fresh start." Nanao kicked off her her heels, she wasn't going to be wearing a pair of them in a while.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question. There is probably going to be a long streak of not so happy stories after this one. Fair warning.


	5. Dulled Pain

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

The sound of fighting could be heard throughout Seireitei. The war was ending, but the enemy wasn't giving up. The shinigami were finally winning, there was death on both sides. Some where greater than others.

In one corner of Seireitei, two figures were still alive, but one was just barely clinging to life. The other was lost in her own world of black and white.

"Nanao...chan." Nanao snapped out of her daze and looked around. The last place she remembered being, was in her office. How had she gotten outside? "Nanao." Nanao looked towards the source of the voice. Kyoraku Shunsui was sitting up against a wall, blood dripped from his lazy smile as his hands lay limp at his side. Blood soaked his legs from a wound in his lower abdomen.

"Taichou!" Nanao slipped on the blood at her feet as she tried to get up. 'What? When did this happen?' She got to her feet and rushed over to her injured Taichou.

"Haven't heard you say that in a while." Nanao began using healing kido, she wasn't sure she could heal him, his wound was bad, and large. "That isn't going to do anything, Nanao."

"Shut up! If you talk it'll make it worse." Nanao could feel her throat tightening. She examined the wound as she healed. The wound in his stomach was deep, and it hit many of his internal organs.

Nanao looked at his face when she heard him laugh. "You're so serious, Nanao-chan. Even when you look so cute without your glasses." It broke her heart to hear him laugh while his life poured out of him.

"You're too carefree!" Nanao worked at healing his blood veins, but that was tricky, many of them were severed and some had sections missing. 'This is a massive wound. How did he get it? And where did my glasses go?'

"Yes...I am too carefree. I take gambles that I can't pay out, but that was my choice...and I have to live with them...sometimes the price was just too high...but it's already been payed...and can't be taken back." Nanao could hear the resignation in his voice, he was giving up.

"BUT THIS IS YOUR LIFE! FIGHT FOR IT!" Nanao was concentrating more on their conversation than healing. She knew she couldn't afford it, but it couldn't be helped, she would still lose him. "What's worth your life?!"

"Those I love." Nanao couldn't say a word in reply. "If I could let you have a life without wars...I would die a worse death than this."

"Then live...live it with me. I love you too much to just lose you so easily." Nanao could feel her eyes sting with tears, she didn't try to stop them, her mind was too focused on keeping him alive.

"Do you love me that much Nanao?" Nanao met his eyes with her watery ones, she could see a smile in them. Even though they had lost most of their usual sparkle, but a bit still remained.

"Idiot. Of course I would love you, Shunsui. It's rather hard not to. Especially when I've been around you for so long." Nanao found herself smiling through her tears, none had fallen, but they threatened to spill over. "Please don't leave me."

She felt a hand tuck her loose hair behind her ear, then move to her cheek as a tear spilled over. She smiled weakly as Shunsui wiped away her tear. "I'm sorry...Nanao-chan...I can't do that. My time is up."

"I can't do this alone. I'm not strong enough to-" Nanao let her tears fall as her kido faded, there wasn't anything more she could do with her healing skills. She cursed herself for not studying more in them. "I'm not strong enough to do anything."

"You're plenty strong...Nanao." She couldn't smile anymore, her tears had taken over. "I don't think I have ever been scared before, but the killing intent coming from you a few moments ago, probably would have given Yamaji a heart attack." Nanao was surprised by his words. Had she been that terrifying? "You don't need me to protect you. I don't think I ever needed to protect you. Sorry-"

"Don't apologize! You have nothing to apologize for, Shunsui. It was your way of showing your love, at least, that's how I saw it." Nanao knew she was probably blushing through her tears, but she didn't care, she truly loved this man. "You didn't want to lose me, and I don't want to lose you either."

"You never will. I will always be with you." Nanao let him pull her face close to his. Her tears doubled as his lips pressed softly against hers. Their kiss ended all too soon for her. "I love you...Na..nao..."

*SHATTER*

Nanao caught sight of Shunsui's zanpakutou breaking into pieces as his hand rested on her shoulder. She turned her attention back to Shunsui as realization hit her.

"Shunsui?" Nano felt his hand fall limp off of her shoulder. "Shunsui!" She tilted his head up and searched his lifeless eyes for a sparkle, a spark, anything. "SHUNSUI!" She layed her head against his shoulder as she cried.

* * *

Nanao sat up in a cold sweat. She ran a hand through her damp hair. "Haven't had that dream in a while." She threw her blankets off of her legs as she shifted them over the edge of her bed. She placed her head in her hands and took several deep breaths.

The air was too thick in her room. She pulled the fabric that draped over the end of her over her shoulders. She smiled weakly as the silk fabric brushed against her skin.

She walked through her barrack till she reached the patio door. She slid it open and took a deep breath of the cool night air. She sat down on the polished wood and pulled the silky kimono around her. She traced the pattern with her eyes as they adjusted to the moonlight.

She knew the pattern all too well. She had stared at it for years while she served as a Fukutaichou. And even in the tinted light, she could still see every shade of pink clearly.

"Having trouble sleeping, Nanao-san?" Nanao turned her attention to the figure walking towards her. The white hair gave him away.

"Yeah. Just old memories. What about you, Ukitake?" Nanao turned her gaze back towards the moon, it always helped her relax when her heart was being plagued by dreams of Shunsui. "What brings you here at this time of night?"

"Thought you might have a bit of trouble sleeping. It is that day after all." She heard him sit down beside her. "Did Shunsui leave you that?"

Nanao smiled down at the kimono on her shoulders. "Yes. He gave it to me a few years after I became his Fukutaichou. I didn't think much of it, it stayed in the bottom of my closet in it's box for years. Now it's always the first thing I see everyday. That isn't the only reason you came, is it?"

Nanao could see a bit of hesitation in the old Taichou's eyes. "The story you gave central 46, that wasn't the whole story, was it?"

"No. It wasn't." Nanao looked back at the moon before she began.

~Flashback: The day Shunsui died~

Nanao sat at her desk working, trying to keep her mind off of the battle going on outside of the office. It wasn't working. She got up and paced nervously as she searched for Shunsui's reiatsu. She found it, strong and steady. Why was she worrying about him?

"Just calm down. He'll be fine. He wasn't made the Soutaichou for nothing." Nanao calmed herself as she continued to pace.

She stopped in her tracks, Shunsui's reaistu fluctuated. 'Shunsui!' Nanao grabbed her zanpakutou and rushed to the office porch.

"Ise-Fukutaichou! Where are you going?" Nanao paused before turning back to her fellow Fukutaichou. She had a foot on the railling, her muscles tense to leave quickly. She had no answer, so she left.

She saw him as she got closer. He was missing his sakkat and he had blood covering the side of his face. He was leaning against the wall, leaning on his zanpakutou. Three Quincy stood around him.

Nanao landed between the Quincy and Shunsui. "Na...Nanao-chan?" Nanao didn't turn to face him.

"Another shinigami? This one isn't strong at all." Nanao pulled off her glasses as the Quincy mocked her.

They all stopped laughing when her reiatsu doubled. She drew her zanpakutou and held it in front of her. "Spread your deadly poison, Beradon'na." Her wakizashi changed into a curved bladed dagger. The blade turned black and the edge turned purple.

Nanao attacked one of the Quincy closest to her. Her blade buried in his chest. His body shrivels up into a dead plant while he cried out. She turned to the remaining two Quincy. They had backed away from her.

"Monster!" One of the Quincy shot at her.

She didn't move, she didn't need to. The arrow tapped her hair clip. It shattered as the arrow continued past her. Her hair fell around her face, then flared away from it as her reiatsu doubled once more. She smiled as the Quincy backed away more.

"Scared?" She stood in front of one of the Quincy. She threw her dagger into the other. He crumpled to the ground as she held the other by his throat. "Don't judge a book by its cover." She smashed the Quincy in her grasp into the ground, crushing his throat and plunging her hand into his chest. She pulled her hand out, his heart in her hand.

Her mind blanked as she stared down at the blood beneath her. She smiled...

* * *

"Nanao-san!" Nanao snapped out of her reminiscing. She looked at the white haired Taichou kneeling beside her. "Sorry. I shouldn't have let you go so far."

"It's okay." Nanao wiped the tears from her face, she couldn't remember when she had started crying.

"Will you be okay?" Nanao returned his sad face with a weak smile.

She turned her gaze away from him and back at the lonely full moon. "I will. Just like I have for the past ten years. I will survive, and live on, till I can't anymore."

"You should get some rest. Seireitei can't function properly if the Soutaichou isn't at her best." Nanao tried to return his laugh, but only a smile broke through her tears.

"Don't worry, I will be fine tomorrow." She stared still the moon as he left. She pulled her kimono around her. "Shunsui, looks like my work here isn't done yet." She got up and walked back to the door. She aused and looked once more at the moon. "Wait just a bit longer. I love you...I always will, Shunsui."

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	6. Mine(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Nanao~

*RING*

Nanao packed up her bags and left the class room. "Rangiku! Wait up!" Nanao ran to catch up to her friend in the hallway. "We still going to that new cafe with Momo and Rukia?"

"Yep. And I think Orihime was joining us too." Nanao followed her friend to the front of the school to wait for the rest of their group. "I'm surprised you're not blowing us off to be with your boyfriend. You two going through a rough patch?"

"Rangiku! Do I need a reason to want to hang out with my friends?" Nanao whined loudly. Sure she had blown them off the last few times, but she still wanted to hang out with them.

"Nanao! Rangiku!" Nanao looked towards the school building. Momo, Rukia, and Orihime were walking towards them. "We ready to go?" Momo was chipper and happy as always.

"Yep! Let's go!" Nanao rolled her eyes at the excited blond. She was usually this optimistic and excitable.

They talk with each other till they came across the little cafe. It wasn't busy and it looked rather cute. It looked like an old cottage, it even had a wood fireplace.

"Welcome. How many of you lovely ladies have come in today?" All the girls were drawn to the waiter standing in front of them. He had a lazy smile and chocolate brown eyes. His brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, save it be for one strand that fell across his face. A light fuzz covered his jaw. He was the hottest guy any of the girls had ever laid eyes on.

"There's five of us." Nanao wasn't surprised she was the only girl not star struck by the man.

"Right this way." Nanao gave the waiter a smile in return to his own. He was rather charming. The girls followed him till they reached a table. "I'll be back in a little bit to take your orders." He handed them each a menu before leaving.

"He's a dream boat." All the girls giggled at Rangiku's comment. "What? He is. Those eyes and that fuzz."

"What? Is Gin not good enough anymore?" The girls laughed more at Rukia's retaliation.

"Don't be picking on me. I saw you eyeballing his ass. Is your red pineapple getting annoying already?" Nanao rolled her eyes as the girls continued to talk about their boyfriends. "Nanao. I'm surprised you weren't smitten with him. Is your man hotter than him or something?"

"I don't think that is any of your business, Rangiku." Nanao scanned through the menu and found her favourite tea to be on the list.

"You girls know what you want yet?" Ally he girls looked towards the waiter, it was Mr. Hottie.

"I'll have the Cherry Rose tea and a cinnamon bun please." Nanao handed him her menu with a smile.

"Nanao already knows what she wants? Has she been here without us?" Nanao sighed as Rangiku spoke up. "I'll have an ice tea and a chocolate croissant."

"Maybe she came here with her secret boyfriend?" Nanao gave Momo a glare, but the girl was looking at the menu. "I'll have a Hibiscus tea and a scone please."

"What type of jam would you like?" Nanao could see blush spread across Momo's cheeks as the waiter spoke to her directly.

"St...st...straw...b...b...b...berry...please." The girls let out a small giggle as she struggled to reply to him. Momo always stuttered when she was blushing.

"Very well. And you two lovely ladies?" The waiter turned his attention to Rukia and Orihime. Nanao smiled as the two of them buried their faces in their menus.

"I'll have a green tea and sweat cakes please." Rukia handed him her menu while trying to avoid his gaze.

"I'll have a sweat tea, chocolate eclair, strawberry tart, and a slice of caramel apple crisp." All the girls sweat dropped at their friend's order. She always ate a lot when they went out.

"I'll be back with your order soon." All the girls sighed as he walked away.

"He is the sweetest treat here. Did anyone catch what his name was?" Nanao pulled out her phone as the girls chatted more about the waiter. "Is Nanao texting her super hot boyfriend that she won't let us meet?"

"Mind your own business. I just needed to tell him where to pick me up." Nanao put her phone down after sending the text.

"You guys are going on a date? What about the homework?" Rukia was always focusing on her studies, her brother was always telling her to do her best.

"He's in university, so he helps me when I get stuck. Which is never by the way." Nanao glared at her friends, mostly Rangiku, as smiles spread across their faces. "Stop thinking such dirty thoughts! It's not like that!"

"Who said we were thinking naughty things? You're the one that said something." Nanao gave Rangiku another glare, the blond seemed unfazed by it.

"Your order ladies." They all stopped talking as the waiter reappeared. "I hope you don't feel offended, but I couldn't help but pick up all of your names." All of the girls spoke at once, not a word could be made out.

"Green tea and sweat cakes for the lovely Miss. Rukia." He set down Rukia's order in front of her. "Ice tea and chocolate croissant for the lovely Miss. Rangiku." He set down Rangiku's order with a smile. "Hibiscus tea and strawberry jam scone for the lovely Miss. Momo." Momo turned a bright shade of red, almost the same as the jam. "Sweat tea, chocolate eclair, strawberry tart, and caramel apple crisp for you my dear. I'm afraid I didn't hear the lovely lady's name."

"It's Orihime." Nanao rolled her eyes, the waiter was a flirt, a big flirt that she couldn't help but like.

"And last but not least. Cherry Rose tea and a cinnamon bun for the beautiful Miss. Nanao." Nanao gave him a smile as she met his eyes. "Today is our first week, so we have a special, tea and dessert, when ordered together, are free of charge. You ladies have a nice day."

"Wow. That is a great special. And we didn't even know about it. SCORE!" Nanao smiled at her friend's enthusiasm.

They all ate and talked, but Nanao kept finding her mind drifting back to her date later on. Well it wasn't really a date, after all, she lived with her boyfriend. It was mostly because her father refused to live closer to the school, and she wanted to get away from her father.

"Nanao?" Nanao looked towards her friends that were getting up. "You coming?"

"No. I'm going to stay here for a little while longer." She smiled as her friends said goodbye and left.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui closed his locker and waved good bye to his co-workers. He walked towards the front and looked around the cafe. His girlfriend had come in today, but he couldn't spot her.

"Looking for someone, Shunsui?" He faced forward and smiled. Her eyes framed by her glasses and her hair pined back in its usual style. She looked positively adorable to her. "What are you looking at?"

"Just the most beautiful woman in the world." He took her bag from her hand as he walked past her.

"I can carry that myself!" He smiled at how defensive she got when he did things like this. "Shunsui!"

"Shall I carry you instead." He smiled playfully at her, she was blushing. "So she can get cuter." He kissed her cheek before retreating away from her fist. "So violent."

"I wouldn't need to be if you stopped pushing my buttons." Shunsui smiled again, she was still blushing.

Their walk back to their apartment was basically the same. He would give her compliments and flirt, she would get flustered and yell at him. It was normal for them.

"So what would you like for dinner, my lovely lady?" Shunsui smiled as he walked towards the kitchen and looked through the fridge.

"Still in work mode?" Shunsui laughed as he realized he was still acting like he was at work. "Need a hand?"

"Don't worry about it. I want to treat the most beautiful woman in the world to food made by the best cook in the world." Shunsui smiled as he turned to face her. She had her head in her hands with her elbows on the counter. "So what would you like, my dear?"

"How about...spaghetti? Your tomato as use is most certainly the best I have ever had." Shunsui smiled as he went through the kitchen collecting ingredients. "You sure you don't need any help?"

Shunsui placed a pot on the stove for the pasta. "Of course. It's my treat in return for the one you gave me." He pulled out a pan and set about making the sauce.

"What treat did I give you?" Shunsui smiled as he continued to work.

He turned back to her as he collected other ingredients for the sauce. "You visited me at work. It was lovely to see such a beautiful face at work."

~Nanao~

Nanao smiled as her boyfriend made her dinner. 'How did I find such a perfect man?' She laughed to herself as she remembered their first meeting

~2 years ago~

Nanao sat at a restaurant with her father. The atmosphere was tense, they didn't know what to talk about, they hadn't had a full conversation in, what felt like, years.

"This is a nice place." Nanao tried to start a conversation. Her father just grunted and took another drink from his glass of beer. "Do you want to stay afterwards and watch the fireworks?"

"Aren't you a bit old to watch fireworks? You're already in High School." Nanao frowned at her father, of course he would be negative.

The waiter came by with their food, relieving Nanao from having to start another conversation. She cut through her spaghetti and savoured the first bite. She would never get too old for spaghetti.

"You should grow up more. No man is going to want a woman that still acts like a teenager." Nanao rolled her eyes at her father. "Don't give me that. Why do you have to oppose me in everything?"

"I'm not opposing you! And if you haven't noticed, I am a teenager!" She abandoned her knife and slurped up a noddle. Then smiled when she didn't get any sauce on her chin. 'Score!'

"Can I not take you anywhere?! Can't you act your age for once in your life while we are in public?!" Nanao had, had enough, she got up and walked away from the table. "Come back here young lady!"

Nanao didn't stop, she just ran out of the restaurant. She only stopped when there wasn't anywhere else to go, she was at the end of a pier. She climbed down the ladder and was glad to see no one heading down towards the pier.

She stepped on the last ring of the ladder, her foot slipped. "Gah!" She grabbed harder with her hand, it slipped too. 'Damn it!' She felt her self fall backwards, but she didn't fall far. She felt arms holding her up, she looked up and was greeted by a smiling face.

"You okay there, darling?" Nanao found herself blushing. His voice was a deep baritone, and his smile was perfectly lined with fuzz, it looked soft. She found herself enchanted by him. "Did you lose your voice with that scream?"

Nanao shook her head as she got her footing. "N...no. Thank you." She was glad fort he public speaking club she was in. Her voice wasn't as shaky as she felt. "Sorry for disturbing you."

She turned back towards him when he continued to hold her hand. "You didn't. What would a pretty little flower such as yourself be doing in this end of town?"

Nanao pulled her hand out of his grasp. "Just trying to delay the inevitable. It's none of your concern." She turned to leave, but stopped when she hear a firework crackle behind her. She turned and watched as another went off, she could see where they where getting set off from. "Wow. I didn't know they set them off from here."

"Yep. Found out a few years back. It's rather nice to watch. Would you like to join me?" Nanao looked towards his outstretched hand. She smiled as she took it and sat down beside him.

* * *

"What are you thinking about?" Nanao looked up from her reminiscing. She could smell the sauce. "Seems I've distracted you from your daydreaming."

"That's okay. I'd much rather eat than think of food." Nanao laughed as he placed a plate of spaghetti in front of her. "I will never grow too old for this stuff."

"I'm glad. I quite like seeing you act so young. It's much different then when you are being so serious." Nanao smiled as he slurped a piece of spaghetti and it slapped against his chin. She did the same, but it didn't get on her chin. "Show off?"

"Nope. Just more skilled than you." Nanao smiled as she picked up her knife and ate it like she usually did.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui smiled as he and his girlfriend ate their meal. He was glad they had moved in together. He was worried at first when they had gone to ask her father.

~1 year ago~

Shunsui pulled his vehicle up to the small house in the countryside. The house looked a little worn down, but still liveable for a few more decades. "You sure it's okay if I come with you?" He turned to his girlfriend with a worried look.

"Don't worry. My dad can be difficult and a grouch, but he isn't unreasonable." He smiled as he followed her out of the truck and towards the house.

They didn't knock, she lived there after all.

"Dad! I'm back to get the rest of my stuff! You can wait here." Shunsui smiled as she went off to grab her stuff from her room.

"So you're Shunsui?" Shunsui turned to the man standing in a doorway nearby. "I'm glad she found someone who is responsible."

"Sir?" Shunsui wasn't sure what her father was saying.

"Sir is far too formal. Call me Jim. It's not my name, but that is what everyone calls me." Shunsui took his outstretched hand and shook it. "You're in university right?"

"Yeah. I'm about to start my third year." Shunsui hadn't met his girlfriend's father before, he seemed like a nice guy.

"Good to hear. I haven't been the best father for her, I know that. It hasn't been easy since her mother left us, and that was probably my fault as well." Shunsui listened as her father continued. "Please take care of her. She needs someone to stand by her."

"Don't worry. I don't plan on leaving her alone." Shunsui smiled at the man. He was a good father.

"This is the last of it." Shunsui turned to see his girlfriend carrying a box in front of her. "Never realized I had so little stuff."

"You never liked keeping old things." Shunsui noticed the change in the tone of Jim's voice.

"Then that explains why I'm not staying in this house. I'm going to put this into the truck." Shunsui noticed the tension between the two. He pulled the box out of his girlfriends arms. "Shunsui! I can carry it!"

"But it's heavy. I would hate for you to pull a muscle." He walked towards the door with a smile across his face. "It was nice to meet you, Jim."

"Bye dad." Shunsui walked out the door behind his girlfriend. She never looked back at her house, or waved goodbye to her father.

* * *

"Earth to Shunsui. You okay?" Shunsui looked up at his girlfriend. She had a worried look on her face.

"Yeah. Just thinking about things. I have a project due soon. How is your school work going?" Shunsui smiled as he stood and picked up their plates.

~Nanao~

"I'll take care of that. You made dinner, so I'll clean up." Nanao took the dishes from her boyfriends hands and walked into the kitchen.

She turned on the water and waited for it to turn hot. She noticed the life machine had a message. She pressed the button and waited for the message to play.

"One new message, received today at 2:46 pm, from an unknown number." The mechanical voice of the voice machine spoke.

*BEEP*

"Hey Shun! It's Lisa. Just wondering what you're up to nowadays. I was wondering if you wanted to hook up. We haven't seen each other in a while..." Nanao didn't pay attention to the rest of the message. She was already out the door with tears streaming down her face.

"Nanao!" She didn't pay attention to the voice calling for her.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui cursed himself as he ran out of the apartment after his girlfriend. "Nanao!" He jumped the railing to catch her before she continued any further. He pulled her into a hug and held her close, she was trembling. "Please stop. I'm sorry. I didn't know Lisa would call. I haven't spoken to her in a year."

"Then why would she call now?" He could hear Nanao's sadness, it broke his heart.

"We used to get together every now and then, but that was before I met you. That day when we watched fireworks on the docks. Your eyes lit up with every one of them." Shunsui held her close, hoping she wouldn't run away. "I knew I wanted something more out of life than just be the prodigy son of a wealthy man. I wanted to be something someone could rely on one day. Someone you could rely on." He held her face with his hand as he looked down into her tear filled eyes.

"You're not leaving?" Shunsui couldn't help but crack a smile, she was worried about HIM leaving?

He leaned down and laid a gentle kiss on her lips. "I would never leave you. Not now, not ever."

"I love you, Shunsui." Shunsui smiled as he recaptured Nanao's lips.

He picked her up and began walking back to their apartment. "I love you too, Nanao."

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	7. Heart of My Life

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

Nanao stretched and opened her eyes. She looked around the dim morning light and wondered what had woken her up. She looked beside her and noticed the other half of the bed was empty. She got up and walked through the darken halls, stepping silently as she made her way to the room at the end of the hall.

She passed by the large frame that was in the hall. She looked up at the dress framed in it. She smiled, it still made her laugh that Shunsui would have gotten her wedding dress framed. She ran her hand over the glass, remembering how the satin and lace had felt on her skin.

~5 years ago: Wedding day~

Nanao looked at herself in the full length mirror. Her dress was an A-line in pure white satin, no sleeves. She had lace to cover her arms and the top part of her dress. The lace didn't go all the way to her neck, nor did it cover her back, that was left open. She didn't think she did the dress justice, it was beautiful on the hanger and on the manikin, but she didn't think she was meant for it.

"You look breath taking, Nanao-chan." Nanao turned to her maid of honour, Yadomaru Lisa. "To think my adorable Nanao-chan is going to be marry the lazy flirt." Lisa skipped over to Nanao and hugged her. "You look positively adorable without your glasses on."

Nanao blushed as she returned Lisa's hug. "I'm not that cute. My hair is off and I don't fit this dress at all." Nanao turned back to the mirror and stared at herself. She looked pale, she felt it too.

"Your hair is perfect and the dress looks like it was made for you. Stop being so nervous." Lisa picked Nanao's bouquet up from the side table it was on. "Now let's go get you hitched!"

"Yadomaru-senpai!" Nanao took a step forward, she stepped on her dress. "Kya!"

"Easy there, Nanao-chan." Lisa easily caught her best friend. "And today, it's Lisa or Lisa-chan, okay?" Lisa helped set Nanao back on her feet.

"Okay. Lisa-chan. I said that like Shunsui does, didn't I?" Nanao slumped forward realizing how much Shunsui's carefree nature had rubbed off on her.

Lisa smiled at Nanao. "Yep. Your so cute!" She picked up Nanao and spun her around.

"Sen–Lisa-chan! Put me down!" Nanao really felt like she was going to be sick. She steadied herself on a banister as she waited for the nausea to pass. "I don't know if I can do this."

"Sure you can. You survived as his Fukutaichou for longer than any of his other ones, including me. I'm sure the rest of your time together will be just as enjoyable." Lisa stood beside Nanao, the girl looked pale.

"I'm just hoping to make it through today." Nanao noticed where they where. The banister she was leaning on, overlooked the inside of the chapel Shunsui had chosen for their wedding. The rows were lined with a deep raspberry pink and roses. Rose petals were scattered over the white aisle leading up to the front. And there stood Yamamoto-Soutaichou, Shunsui wanted him to perform their marriage. And beside him, dressed in a black suit with a pink tie and no pink kimono, was Shunsui.

"If you stay up here too long, he'll come looking for you." Nanao nearly squeaked, Lisa was right behind her and had whispered into her ear. Lisa smiled as she held a hand to pull her away from the banister and towards the stairs. "You ready?"

Nanao took one more look at the man she was about to marry. She smiled as she pushed herself away and towards Lisa. "Yeah. I'm ready."

Nanao managed to make it down the stairs. She smiled at the brides maids assembled near her. The doors to the chapel were closed, but the squeals they made probably gave away that she was there.

"Nanao! You look beautiful!" Nanao smiled as Rangiku hugged her tightly.

"Rangiku-chan, you should let her breath. She is probably already nervous enough." Momo gently pried Rangiku's arms off of the bride.

"Get in line people. We're about to start. Nanao you're at the back, Jushiro-san is up here with me. Get in your pairs and let's get this wedding started!" Lisa ushered everyone around.

The music started and the doors opened. Nanao took deep breaths as she watched the pairs enter the chapel. First was Lisa and Jushiro, Maid of honour and Best man. Then Toshiro and Rangiku, Rukia and Renji, Kira and Isane, and lastly was Unahana and Kenpachi. She another deep breath as she stepped out into the door way into the chapel.

She walked down the aisle, not paying much attention to the people in the benches beside her, her eyes were glued to a pair of chocolate brown eyes.

'Chocolate sound really good right now.' Nanao kept walking, she felt like she was on autopilot.

'Tonight you can have all the chocolate you want.' Nanao blushed at the pictures her zanpakutou was flashing through her mind. 'Good luck, Nanao-chan.' Nanao could have sighed at the deep melodic voice her zanpakutou used whenever he called her that. Her zanpakutou had been the only person to call her 'Nanao-chan', but then she met Shunsui.

'Thank you, Yumenoki.' Nanao smiled as she thanked her zanpakutou.

She reached the front of the chapel and accepted Shunsui's outstretched hand. She stepped up beside him and handed Lisa her bouquet. 'Here we go.'

"To friends and family gathered here today." Nanao steadied herself as she listened to the Soutaichou begin the ceremony. "We are gathered to witness the union between Kyoraku Shunsui and Ise Nanao. If there are any among you who have reason that these two should not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Nanao held her breath as a moment of silence passed, not a sound was made. But a strong killing aura was being emitted by certain members of Nanao's bride's maids.

"We shall continue. Kyoraku Shunsui, do you take Ise Nanao to be your wife. To love and to cherish, to hold and to protect, till death do you part?" Shunsui smiled at Nanao, did he really need to answer?

"I do." He rubbed his thumb over Nanao's smooth knuckles, she seemed tense and nervous.

"Ise Nanao, do you take Kyoraku Shunsui to be your husband. To love and to cherish, to hold and to protect, till death do you part?" Nanao took a deep breath, this was it, the moment she had been waiting for.

"I do." She smiled at Shunsui as she watched his eyes light up and a large grin spread across his face.

"The rings." With the cue from the Soutaichou, Lisa and Jushiro handed their friends their partner's ring. Nanao placed the gold band on Shunsui's hand and Shunsui slide Nanao's ring onto her hand. "Then by the power vested in me as the Soutaichou of the Gotei 13, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss your bride, Shunsui."

"With pleasure." Nanao smiled as Shunsui picked her up a bit. She wrapped her arms around his neck as their lips pressed against each other. The crowd cheered in the background, but the couple was too absorbed in their own moment. "I love you, Nanao."

"I love you too, Shunsui." Nanao kissed him again as he placed her feet back on the ground.

"I like unprofessional Nanao." Shunsui held her hand as he led her down the aisle towards the chapel doors.

"She'll be around for a little bit, but don't expect to find her in the office." Nanao smiled up at his mock frown. "The office is no place for inappropriate behaviour."

"I would expect nothing less from my beautiful Nanao-chan." Shunsui picked her up once they reached the door and opened it to the bright sunlight.

* * *

Nanao continued down the hall, but no lights where on. 'I wonder where Shunsui is?' She peaked silently into the room at the end of the hall. No one stood in it. She approached the crib and looked down, baby, bottle, and blanket were missing. 'Now where is-'

*CLANG*

'Kitchen.' Nanao went to leave the room, but a small picture frame stopped her. She picked it up and examined it, she didn't remember it being there before.

She smiled as she saw the picture. "I look dreadful, but I guess he would frame something like this." Nanao put the photo down as she looked around the room, the room of her little baby boy.

~2 months ago~

"Shunsui, have you seen my glasses? I can't find them anywhere." Nanao looked around the bedroom again, nothing. She emptied out all the drawers and cabinets in the bathroom, not there either.

"I don't know if you'll be able to find anything in this mess." Shunsui leaned on the doorframe. He had a smile on his face as he watched his very pregnant wife turn the room upside down. He approached her cautiously. "You should calm down. Stress isn't good for you or the baby."

"That's what is stressing me out the most. The baby is a week late, paperwork is piling up for the squad, and I can't find my stupid glasses!" Nanao gave a sigh of defeat as she leaned back into Shunsui. "This is not a good day."

Shunsui wrapped his arms around his wife and kissed her forehead. "I found your glasses."

"Where?" Shunsui laughed at the excitement in Nanao's voice.

"Right here." Shunsui pulled her glasses off the top of her head and handed them to her. "I don't think you could have possibly found them, you covered the mirror with one of my kimonos."

"What?" Nanao looked around the room, it was a mess. "I thought I was putting things back." She tried to move away from Shunsui, but his arms were holding her in place. "Can you let me go? I need to clean the mess I made."

"But you need to relax. Retsu-chan even said that you should rest more." Shunsui picked her up and carried her out of the disaster zone. "What would my lovely Nanao-chan like for lunch?"

"Curry...chocolate curry." Nanao smiled as he set her down on the couch in their living room.

"As my Nanao-chan wishes." Shunsui kissed her gently before heading off to the kitchen. "Would my Nanao-chan like some tea while she is waiting for her food?"

"Yes please. Can you make it strong?" Nanao laid back on the couch, it was getting uncomfortable to sit upright.

"Cramping again?" Shunsui started the tea before setting about collecting ingredients for the curry. "Do you want to go see Retsu-chan about them?"

"I don't want to bother her with something as small as a bit of cram...ping." Shunsui peered into the living room. Nanao wasn't one to take a pause while she was speaking. "Let's go see Unahana-Taichou."

Shunsui turned off the burner he had just lit and walked over to his wife, who was struggling to get up from the couch. "Here." Shunsui picked her up and stepped into shunpo. They were in front of 4th squad hospital in one step.

Shunsui carried Nanao into the hospital. They were met by Unahana as soon as they got to the reception desk. "Finally time?"

"Looks like it." Nanao smiled weakly at the Taichou as another wave of pain went through her body. "Man this guy has good timing. He's taking after you even before he is born."

Shunsui laughed as he carried Nanao into the room Unahana walked into. It was a sterile green colour and had a strange looking bed. "Set her down on the bed, and you can take the seat beside it." Unahana smiled at the couple as she pulled off her haori and tied back her sleeves.

Shunsui put Nanao down and sat down in the chair, her hand had an iron grip on his. "Nervous my dear?"

"No-" Nanao clenched her hand as another contraction went through her body.

"Your contractions have gotten very close. Looks like this will be a quick birth." Nanao sighed as Unahana put a surgical mask on and tied an apron over her hair.

* * *

Nanao laughed remembering Unahana's words before she spent nine and a half hours in labour. "Quick my dictionary. The only thing it was quicker than was getting Shunsui to do his paperwork." Nanao walked out of the room with a smile on her face.

She snuck up to the kitchen, the light was on. She peaked into the door and saw Shunsui's back facing her. On his shoulder was their little baby boy, Kyoku. His eyes lit up as he spotted his mother. Nanao placed a finger on her lips and hoped her son understood. He just smiled as she creeped up behind Shunsui.

"Hehe!" Nanao smiled at her son, he was adorable when he laughed.

Shunsui peered over his shoulder and noticed Nanao standing and smiling at the infant on his shoulder. "Nanao-chan has gotten better at sneaking. But it seems Kyo-chan loves his mother too much to stay silent."

Nanao slipped her son off of Shunsui's shoulder and held him in her arms. His mess of curly hair framing his purple eyes. "You are going to break hearts when you grow up. Just like your father. But hopefully you won't be as irresponsible." She kissed his forehead as she looked at Shunsui.

"I'm hurt Nanao." She smiled at his dramatization of being stabbed in the heart. "So what woke my lovely Nanao-chan from her beauty sleep. Did I make too much noise?"

"No." Nanao leaned against the counter as Kyoku fell asleep in her arms. She smiled down at him, her and Shunsui's son. "I just noticed the bed was empty and the house was quiet. When did you get that picture framed?"

"What picture?" Shunsui looked at her with confusion. He had put away most of what he had been doing. Which was attempting to make the powder formula Unahana had given them so that Nanao could sleep through a night. He didn't have a clue how to make it.

"The one that you took of Kyoku and I after the ten hours of labour. I look dreadful." Nanao frowned at Shunsui as he made his way over to them.

Shunsui leaned down and kissed Nanao gently. "I like it. It's the only one I have of the two angels in my life."

"Then let's get a family portrait done, or you could take another one and replace that one." Nanao found herself getting tired. "I'm going to put Kyoku back in his crib, then I will join you back in our bed."

"Don't take too long, you need your sleep." Shunsui gave her another kiss before letting her head down the hall to the nursery.

He walked to their bedroom and smiled as he passed the framed wedding dress. He could still make out the small seem that had been resown, because he had accidentally torn it when trying to undress Nanao on their wedding night. He laughed at himself as he feel onto the bed.

He didn't have to wait too long until he felt a small slender body cuddle up close to him. "Tired my dear?" He kissed her forehead as he pulled the blankets over them.

"Yes." Nanao smiled as warmth wrapped around her. "I love you, Shunsui."

Shunsui pulled his wife close to him. "I love you too, Nanao."

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	8. Rainy Day(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Nanao~

Nanao sat in her seat with her jacket pulled around her. Her seat was uncomfortable, but at least she had a window beside her. She leaned against the cold window, rain dripped down it as the bus traveled down the road. Away from the town, with the beautiful church, lovely reception hall, and him. Nanao pulled her jacket over her head, not caring if she ruined her hair anymore, to try and block out the light and sleep, sleep away the sadness that was suffocating her.

~5 years ago~

Nanao looked at herself in the mirror again. She had her hair curled and loose, not like her. She had light make up and her contact lenses in, not like her, at all. She was going on a date, not unusual, with her boss, definitely not like her.

"How did I get myself into this?" Nanao walked out of her room as she pulled a shawl over her shoulders. The purple dress she wore had a single strap, and the night wasn't all that cold, but she just needed something as a security blanket. "What am I doing? He's my boss. I see him everyday. What if this goes wrong? How is that going to affect my work, my job, my career?!"

Nanao would have gone farther, but the doorbell interrupted her. She calmly walked to the door and peered through the eye hole. There, in a black suit, stood her boss, Shunsui Kyoraku. She frozen, not knowing whether to open the door or pretend she wasn't home.

"SHE'LL BE OUT IN A MINUTE!" Nanao spun around and glared at her cousin, Lisa. "THE DOOR IS OPEN BY THE WAY."

Nanao ran after her cousin, but stopped once she heard the door open. 'Guess there is no backing down now. I will make her pay for this later.' She turned and smiled at the man poking his head through the doorway. "Just give me a second to get my shoes on. Then we can head out." She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face as he smiled at her response. He was much to attractive with a smile.

"No need to hurry. The night is still young." Nanao loved the sound of his voice. It was the only reason she let him read his poetry to her. She didn't know what half of them where about, but she had been to busy listening to him to wonder about it.

"Lisa, I'm leaving. I'll be back late, there is food in the fridge for you. And I know how much beer there is int his apartment. Don't drink it all, and don't let your boyfriend talk you into drinking it all." Nanao didn't want a repeat of the last date she went on. She wished she could erase the images, she came home to find, from her mind.

She made sure the door was locked when she left and that she had her key.

"I'm guessing something happened last time her boyfriend got her drunk?" Nanao cringed remembering what happened when her date had asked her what was going on when he had seen the scene in her living room. He had left, and never spoken to her again. "Sounds like a really good drunk story."

"It wasn't when it happened, and it still isn't." Nanao followed Shunsui down the stairs to the parking garage. "I'm surprised you're not dressed in pink. It's strange not seeing you in your usual colour pallet."

"I didn't think you would miss my 'atrocious choice of a work uniform'" Nanao smirked as he quoted her directly. "See, I do pay attention." Nanao followed him to a shiny black Mercedes.

He opened her door for her, he was a true gentleman, all the time. "Thank you very much Mr. Kyoraku."

"Tonight, it's Shunsui, Nanao." Nanao couldn't help but blush, he usually called her Nanao-chan, and she was certain it was because she hated the nickname.

"Thank you, Shunsui." Nanao smiled as he shut her door and walked over to the driver side. "So what have you planned for this evening?"

"That is a surprise, my dear Nanao." Nanao frowned, he knew she didn't like surprises. "And this one I know you will like."

Nanao doubted that. She watched out the window as the city passed by. There was still a few hours left till sunset, so the sun was just below her visor. She noticed Shunsui dig through the glove compartment. He handed her a pair of sunglasses. "Thanks."

"So give her a few minutes and she stops being professional. I'm going to have o try that in the office." Nanao gave him a glare before she put the sunglasses on.

"Work is a different story than my private life. I keep them apart, as they should be." Nanao returned her gaze to the world they were driving by, they were leaving the city. "Now what would you have planned in the countryside?"

"It's a surprise, and surprises are meant to be a secret, until they are given away." Nanao sighed as she watched the buildings turn to grassy fields, and eventually a dense forest. Nanao's breath caught as she caught sight of a sign, one word stood out, livery. "You told me you enjoyed riding before you moved to the city, I thought you might like this."

"I am not dressed for riding, and neither are you." Nanao couldn't contain her happiness, she felt like she was grinning like an idiot, she was.

"Don't worry. I talked to your cousin earlier this week. She gave me a pair of your riding clothes, and I also did some riding. I actually have a few horses here." Nanao gave him a questioning look. He had only asked her out yesterday.

"Then let's go riding." Nanao went to open her door, but found it already open. "Does everyone you associate with act like gentlemen?" She nodded her head in thanks to the boy that had opened her door.

"No, that's just a family trait. This here, is my nephew." Nanao watched as he picked up the boy. "Is your dad around, or did he leave you and your sisters with Yamaji today?"

"He's around, but he's having a heated discussion with Yamaji. Who is this?" Nanao smiled at the boy, he was adorable.

"This is Nanao-chan. We're going riding. Can you show her to the bathroom so she can change?" Nanao was curious about what he was going to do, but assumed it was none of her business.

"Okay!" Nanao chuckled with Shunsui at the boy's enthusiasm. He took the bag from Shunsui's hand and grabbed onto one of Nanao's. "This way!"

Nanao followed as best as she could in her shoes. 'Maybe heels on a first date isn't such a good idea. Or any date with Shunsui for that matter. Did I just think of going on another date with him? What is he doing to me?' Nanao didn't pay much attention as she was lead through the house and to a bathroom. "Thank you very much. You're such a gentleman."

"I learned it all from Shunji." Nanao laughed at the nickname the small boy had given Shunsui. "Take your time. I'll go get him."

Nanao waved as the boy ran off again. She walked into the bathroom and examined what Lisa had pulled out of her riding clothes. It was her show jumping outfit. Her nicest pants and blazer, her boots, helmet, and even her gloves. "Wow. And to think I never noticed any of this stuff was missing."

Nanao quickly changed and stuffed her dress into the bag her riding clothes had been in. She didn't care about folding or making sure the dress would be okay, she just wanted to ride again.

She stepped out of the bathroom, no one was there. She looked around the corner, no one. Walked down the hall, quiet as a tomb. 'Am I lost...inside a house? How big is this place?!' She continued to walk, but she didn't recognize anything. "Maybe I should have stayed by the bathroom?"

"Are you lost?" Nanao turned, an old man was standing behind her.

"Just a bit." Nanao laughed nervously. "I'm Na-"

"Nanao Ise." She looked at him in surprise, how did he know her? "Shunsui has been telling me about you. Said you used to ride before you moved to he city. Do you know how to care for a horse?"

"Of course. I wouldn't ride if I didn't." Nanao repeated what her riding instructed had told her many times.

"Good. Come with me." Nanao followed, more out of curiosity than anything. She followed him through the maze of the house. They came to a door that lead to the stables. Nanao gasped as she looked at all the horses around her. "I'm guessing by your outfit you used to do competitions."

"Yes. Show jumping actually. Ranked number two in my division back home." Nanao smiled as she remembered her year of performing in her home town.

"Why only second?" Nanao looked at the old man again, he was looking at her with nearly closed eyes. Was he examining her?

"My opponent was better prepared, to do what ever she needed to be better than me." Nanao frowned as she remembered her last competition. She had lost first place because her horse had gotten spooked before her performance. She had ran through the first gate. "Its wasn't a career choice either. I couldn't afford the fees anymore, neither could my parents. So I dropped riding and went on to become an accountant."

"And your first job interview, you met Shunsui. Back when he was in his depressed phase of life." Nanao laughed awkwardly, rememberi the first few weeks working for Shunsui. "But you seem to have a good effect on him. Keep up the good work."

Nanao looked towards him, he was leaving. "Um..."

"If I see Shunsui I'll send him this way. You should get acquainted with a horse. The three on the end on the left side are Shunsui's." Nanao smiled at his back as he walked back into the house.

Nanao walked down the long row of horse stalls, there were at least twenty horses in them! She got to the end and looked at the three horses. Two were black and white speckled, and the third was solid black.

Two speckled ones looked like mirrors of each other. "Katen, and Kyokotsu. You two must be twins." Nanao smiled at the horses, both looked at her then went back to eating.

She moved on to the black one. "Shioni. He sure has an interesting fast in names." She stood still as the horse approached her. She smiled as she held her hand out and placed it on its muzzle. "Aren't you a gentle one? Much more social than the two ladies next door."

Nanao giggled as Shioni made a grumbling sound. She was liking him very much. "Shall I brush you?" She giggled again when he made another grumbling sound, and rolled his eyes. "Well don't you have a personality?"

She walked towards what looked like the supply closet. She opened it and was glad to find brushes. She found one that had Shioni's name on it and closed the closet.

"Found you." Nanao fell over silently, she didn't want to disturb the horses. She was also surprised to find herself in Shunsui's arms. "That was dangerous. You could have been hurt."

"And who's fault would that have been?" Nanao glared at him while she dislodged herself from his arms. She walked back towards the stalls on the end.

"Have you met them yet?" Nanao looked back towards Shunsui, he was smiling at her.

"Yes I have. Your girls are a little antisocial." Nanao smiled at him before looking towards Katen and Kyokotsu.

"Yeah. They have favourites. Don't you?" Nanao watched as Shunsui approached the two mares, they eagerly greeted him. "Although, it's a little difficult having to choose between the two, but Katen is older than Kyokotsu. So I usually take her out, but Kyokotsu can be a little jealous, but it's easier to win her love back than her mother's"

"Their mother and daughter? Usually the foal gets sold, doesn't it?" Nanao reached over towards Shioni's stall.

"Careful. He's a little moody at times." Nanao rolled her eyes as she turned back to Shioni, he was giving Shunsui the same look Nanao was. She couldn't help but laugh. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Nanao opened the stall door and closed it behind her. She walked toward Shioni and started brushing him. She started with his neck against her shoulder before moving to his side. "And he isn't that bad. It almost sounds like he is purring." Nanao giggled as she continued to brush the stallion.

"He's never done anything close to that. He must like you better than me." Nanao heard Shunsui speaking from one of the stalls beside hers. "Do you need help getting the saddle and bridle on him?"

"No. I can manage. I'm not that weak you know." Nanao was now on Shioni's other side. "You like all this attention, don't you?" Nanao smiled as Shioni grumbled again.

"He's never done that either." Nana looked over as Shunsui peered into the stall. "What have you done to him?"

Nanao laughed as she patted Shioni's side. "Just given him a bit of tender love and care. Shall I get a saddle on you?" She got another grumble, with what appeared to be a smile. "Thought so."

Nanao pulled the bridle off from its hook outside Shioni's stall. She slipped it onto his muzzle without much trouble. "You have bewitched him." Nanao gave Shunsui a glare as she led the stallion out of his stall.

Nanao walked him out to the posts outside. She tied him up before going off to find his saddle. She found it fairly easily. It was a black leather with a purple, white and black feather embroidery pattern on it. She walked back to Shioni, he seemed very excited.

"You want to go out, don't you?" She got a grumble as she placed the saddle on him. "First I have to get this secure." Nanao tightened the straps on the saddle. "There we go." Nanao untied Shioni from the post and climbed into the saddle. "Now we just have to wait."

"You make it sound like I never get anything done." Nanao looked behind her and saw Shunsui riding out of the stable on one of the speckled horses.

"Well you do take a very long time to fill out a five minute form at work." Nanao smirked at him as she waited for him to reach her. "So, where to?"

"Try to keep up." Nanao smiled as Shunsui trotted off onto a trail. She stayed behind for most of the ride. But eventually she got into the grove of riding again.

"You want to try jumping?" She patted Shioni's side. She got a bit of a worried look from the horse. "We'll start small." Nanao steered him towards a small puddle. "And...up." Nanao did what she used to when jumping. She smiled when he tried a small jump. He splashed into the puddle. "Good try."

"What are you doing back there? Trying to play in the water?" Nanao looked up and saw Shunsui nearly fully turned around in his saddle. He was smiling at her.

"Just playing." Nanao smiled back and waited till he turned back around. "Want to try again?" She whispered as she patted Shioni's side. She got a grumble as he moved from a trot to a gallop. 'Okay. Not what I had in mind.' She spotted a gate coming up. "You want to take that, do you?"

"Nanao!" Nanao ignored Shunsui, he was getting behind.

'Ready...three...two...one...up.' Nanao closed her eyes a bit, but still kept an eye on what was happening. She smiled as they cleared the gate. "Haha!" Nanao pulled Shioni to a stop. "Good boy, Shioni. Good boy." Nanao patted his neck, she was positive he was smiling as much as she was.

"You surprised me a bit back there." Nanao looked up, Shunsui was trotting towards her, having gone around the gate. "Have you jumped a horse before?"

"I was in show jumping. Was Shioni a jumper? He understood my signals quite well." Nanao turned Shioni and continued down the trail beside Shunsui.

"Yeah. But he retired a few months ago. Hasn't jumped a puddle since." Nanao caught the smile he was giving her. "He must have known you where a jumper. That's probably why he was so friendly to you."

"Or he is just a good judge of character." Nanao smiled as they continued on. She caught sight of Shioni's ears perk up, but not pivot. "What do you see?" Nanao looked ahead and saw another gate. "Want to take it, Shioni?" She got a grumble in response. "Looks like there is another gate to jump."

"Have fun. There are five until we reach our destination. Katen here is an agility racer. There is a trail that runs parallel to the gated route. Would you like to race?" Nanao smiled back at his grin.

"On your marks..." They stopped the horses. "Get set...GO!"

Nanao laughed as they were neck and neck. Then the trail split and she was approaching the gate. "Ready...three..two..one..up!" Nanao laughed as they cleared the gate.

She leaned into the corner as the went around a bend. She caught sight of the next gate. "Ready..." 'Three...two...one...' "Up!" They cleared the gate.

They turned a corner and passed over a bridge. She spotted Shunsui heading towards the bridge. "Oh ho! Nanao's getting competitive!" She lost sight of him as she and Shioni got back into the tree line.

"Three more gates." She leaned into the corner and saw a double series gate. "A challenge." She got him into the middle track as they approached the gates. "Ready...four...three...two...up" They cleared the first gate. "And up." They cleared the second gate. Nanao smiled as she noticed their speed hadn't dropped by much.

"One more gate." She rounded the corner and saw the gate right there. She was caught off guard, but Shioni seemed to know it was there. They cleared the gate and stopped once they reached the forest edge. "Looks like we got here first. Good job Shioni." Nanao patted the horse, he was smiling.

"Looks like I won the prize." Nanao turned back to look at the trail. Shunsui was smiling at her.

"Why do you say that? I got here first. I believe a race entails getting to the end first." Nanao frowned at him, but eventually ended up smiling. His smile was infectious.

"Because you look breathtaking in the fading sunset." Nanao blushed as he stopped beside her. She could have sworn her heart stopped when he placed a hand on her cheek. "Nanao-chan always looks beautiful." Her mind went blank as his face got close to hers. She held her breath as his lips gently pressed against hers.

* * *

~ Shunsui~

Shunsui sat on the edge of the bed. His tie was loose around his neck and his hair was loose from its usual tie. He was depressed to say the least. He spun the small silver band around his finger. He looked down into the small pink, heart shaped jewel. A tear fell onto it's polished surface. Shunsui layed back on the bed, willing his mind to go blank.

But it wouldn't.

~2 years ago~

Shunsui was nearly skipping as he made his way to Nanao's office. She was his accountant for his firm. She did her job well, and always looked good doing it. And today he was finally going to ask her.

"Nanao-chan." He peaked into her office. She was typing on her computer, her glasses perched on too of her head.

She squinted at him before moving her glasses down to see who it was. "Shunsui? I...I mean Mr. Kyoraku. What brings you here?" He frowned as Nanao corrected herself with his name. They had been dating for a few years now, he had hoped she would have gotten used to calling him by his name at work by now.

"It just Shunsui, Nanao. I was wondering if you wanted to go get a cup of coffee with me." He smiled innocently at her. He had been asking her to go get coffee for a month now. He figured she no longer suspected him of anything anymore.

"Okay. I started my break three minutes ago anyway." Shunsui smiled as she put her stuff away and walked towards him.

Shunsui extended his arm, and to his delight, she took it. "That is the first time you have accepted my arm at work." He smiled widely as he led them through the halls to the elevator.

"Well...we've been together for a while now...and I figured it wouldn't be too weird...you're always acting like a gentleman at work..." He could see blush spreading across her cheeks. She looked very cute.

"It's been a few years." Shunsui smiled down at her as they waited for the elevator.

"Longest relationship I have ever been in." Shunsui looked at her in surprise. This was also his longest standing relationship. "My last one lasted for...about three hours. Then he realized how plain I was and I never heard from him again. My longest one was a year, but that was in high school, so I don't count that really."

"A year?" Shunsui was very shocked, how could anyone get tired of being around her after a year. He had been with her for three and he still found her fascinating and a mystery. "They must not have seen how smart, beautiful, and passionate you are." He kissed her hand as he spoke.

"I...I was a real bookworm back then. Not anyone someone would have wanted to date. 4.0 GPA, top of all of my classes, and top student for all of my years. That just sort of screamed 'nerd'." Shunsui frowned as she walked towards the opening elevator doors.

He followed her inside and pressed to buttons for the lobby. '38 floors till the ground.' He pulled her close beside him. He smiled as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Something bothering you, love?" He kissed her forehead as he brushed her bangs out of her face.

"What's the longest you have ever been with someone?" Shunsui frowned at the question.

He sighed as he moved to stand in front of her. He tilted her head up and kissed her lips gently. "Three years. And it was with this cute little accountant that works on the 39th floor with me. She has the most beautiful eye colour in the world." He sat her glasses up on top of her head, she could see him this close. "Her smile shines brighter than the sun." He ran his thumb over her lips. "And her laugh is the best sound I have ever heard in my life."

He smiled as he leaned down to kiss her again.

*CREAK*

*CLANG*

Shunsui managed to brace himself and hold Nanao as the elevator jerked to a sudden stop.

"What was that?!" Nanao pulled her glasses down and looked at what floor they were on. It appeared that they were stuck between floor 14 and floor 12.

"Looks like we made a stop at floor 13." Shunsui smiled as he tried to pressed the emergency call button, the lights went out as he pressed it. "Looks like a power outage. We might be stuck here a while."

"Why would there be a power outage? There isn't a storm outside, our power grid is stable, so what happened?" Shunsui pulled Nanao close so as to keep her from hurting herself in the dark.

"Maybe the testing firm down the road blew it out. I don't fully trust the Kurotsuchi company with being responsible with its testing." Shunsui was glad they didn't have to deal with them, Mayuri was a really creepy guy, and he looked funny.

"True. Thank goodness we aren't in the medical field. But didn't we construct their building?" Shunsui remembered back to see if that was true.

"I believe so, but he has made modifications to it, so we aren't reliable." Shunsui leaned back against the railing, still holding Nanao close to him. "It looks like we might be here a while."

"Don't get any ideas. We. Are. At. Work. Nothing is going to happen." Shunsui chuckled at Nanao's response.

"I'm pretty sure I already got a kiss, and I believe we got interrupted before this one." He had a hand on her cheek as he kissed her gently. "I believe you may need to revise your sentence."

"Not. Any. Further. Than. This." Shunsui smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

He held her in his arms and gave her another quick kiss. "Since you are here, and can't run away, I have a question for you."

"What is it?" Shunsui smiled at the breathlessness of her voice. She sounded so cute, and he was pretty sure she was blushing, even though he couldn't see her face.

"If this hadn't had happened I would be doing this properly. But since I don't want to let go of you, and you won't be able to see anyway." Shunsui took a deep breath. "Nanao Ise, will you marry me?"

A long pause followed his question. Neither one moved or made any sound.

Shunsui was getting a bit nervous and worried. "Na-"

He was cut off by a pair of soft lips. When Nanao pulled away from him, all he heard was high pitch squealing and the sound of jumping feet. "This is not a dream. Please tell me this isn't a dream."

"There are various ways to tell that. How about this?" Shunsui easily found her left hand and slid the ring from his pocket onto it. "If this goes away, then it's a dream, but it won't because this isn't." He pulled her into his arms as he kissed her again. "I love you, Nanao."

"I love you too, Shunsui."

* * *

~Nanao~

Nanao woke from her dream with tears streaming down her face. She hastily wiped them away as the bus pulled to a halt.

"Last stop! Everybody off! Next bus at this stop goes to Tokyo! It will be here in about eight hours!" Nanao pulled her duffle out from under her seat as she made her way off the bus. She pulled her hood out as she steps out into the misting rain.

She looked around for a sign to tell her where she was, but what point would that be. She didn't know where she was going. She was just getting away, away from the flower garden, the maze, the cute little teacup tables and the button rafts. Away from what she had hoped would have been her happy ending.

~8 months ago~

Nanao looked out the window nervously. It was less than a year to the wedding. She looked away from the window when she felt a hand cover her own. "It's gonna. Be fine Nanao. We're just picking the reception venue."

"I know. It's just that the wedding is in less than a year. It's hard too believe at times." She smiled as Shunsui drove down the country road.

They came up to a little house that was nestled in a bunch of trees. You couldn't. See past them. "Looks like this is it." Nanao followed Shunsui out of the car and towards their wedding planner.

"Quite a place, don't you think?" Nanao smiled at the purple haired lady. She was the most recommended wedding planner, recommended by most of Shunsui's friends and family.

"It is quite lovely, Yorichi. Although, I am very curious to see what is behind these trees." Nanao held onto Shunsui's hand as she looked at the large trees.

Shunsui and Yorichi continued to talk while she gazed up at them, they made her feel like a child. She wanted to climb one, really badly. 'Dont climb. You are not a child. But Shunsui acts like on at work all the time. Why can't I just this once?' Nanao liked her lips as she snuck away from Shunsui. He didn't seem to notice too much. She just had to wait till he was talking with Yorichi again.

She easily made her way over to one of the trees with low hanging branches. She easily pulled herself up onto that one, and it was easy climbing from there. She looked back down after what felt like ten minutes of climbing. Shunsui looked like a little doll, and he seemed to be looking for her. "Nanao! Nanao-chan! Lovely lovely Nanao-chan! Beautiful-"

"HERE!" Nanao shouted. She laughed as Shunsui turned towards the tree. But it looked like he still couldn't spot her. She looked down at herself, brown pants, black tank top, forest green button up shirt. She probably wasn't that easy to see. "Here!" She waved her hand as she shouted.

"How did you get up there?" Nanao could barely hear him, she must have climbed pretty high up.

"I climbed of course. Haven't you ever had an urge to climb a tree before?" Nanao kept climbing up after replying. Pretty soon, she could see into the property. It had a garden maze filling the back yard. She could see signs and certain, but not all, intersections. In large circles she could see...tea cups? "Those must be huge." Nanao looked around the maze more. She noticed a lazy river running through parts of the maze, and buttons floating on it?

This was the craziest maze and garden she had ever seen. She loved it. It made her feel like a child, like the tree had.

She quickly made her way down the tree. She found Shunsui trying to figure out how to climb it once she got down. "We are definitely having the reception here."

"I'm guessing you saw the back." Nanao smiled at Yorichi, she was definitely good at her job. "Let's go take a closer look, shall we."

"Yes!" Nanao skipped behind Yorichi.

She soon found Shunsui's arm around her waist. "I have never seen you this animated before."

"I feel like a child. I haven't felt like this since I was six. When my mother was still around." Nanao's smile faded a bit. "She always told me these crazy stories and pull me away from my studies to play. Back then I would complain that she was making me act like a child so she could be a parent. And tat was true."

"I've never heard about your mother." Nanao smiled at him as he looked at her with concern.

"I've never felt comfortable talking about her. But this place. It reminds me of her. And of her stories." Nanao pulled him along as he walked through the small house.

The small house was made of what looked like ice, but it was warm and slip free.

"Plexiglass? Nice use for it." Nanao laughed at Shunsui's deduction. The architect thinking of what he could do. "A castle of ice would be very easy to build out of this stuff. I am going to have to ask how they got it to look so real."

"Later. Okay?" Nanao pulled him through the metal door that led to the backyard. The smell of many flowers hit them, but it wasn't overpowering. "Wow. It's much more magnificent up close."

"Would you like a tour of the maze?" Nanao smiled as Yorichi walked towards the entrance.

"Can we start with the lazy river?" Nanao eagerly pulled Shunsui along with her.

"Of course. The river will actually take us to all the places we need to view. The mushroom garden, the tea party garden, the house of cards, he candy crystal caves, and my favourite, the fairy ring." Nanao's smile grew as Yorichi listed off the places she hadn't seen from the tree top.

"Wow. This place sounds like an amusement park." Nanao laughed at Shunsui's comment.

"To the buttons!" Nanao eagerly ran into the maze.

"Buttons?" Nanao heard Shunsui say before she rounded a corner and lost the soud of his voice.

She ran till she reached a sign. 'Button River' the arrow pointed left. She ran off to the left. She came across a gate and peered past in.

The river was on the other side. She opened the gate and waited for a button. One floated down towards her, it was bright pink. "Well he is going to like that." She tried to stop the button, but the current was very strong. She ended up rolling onto it. "That works." Nanao lounged on the button as it floated.

She looked up when she felt the button stop moving. "This is quite a lovely prize I have caught. And it's even on my favourite colour." Nanao smiled at her fiancée. "May I join you on your button, fair lady?"

"You may, good sir." Nanao smiled as he climbed onto the hot pink button with her. She sat close to him and kissed him. "How do like it so far?"

"The colour is wonderful. But the company is the best." Nanao smiled as he kisses her again. "Did you deliberately pick the pink one?"

"Nope. It was the first one that came around when I found a river access. I must have good luck, or I'm really good at attracting things covered in pink." Nanao smiled as she ran a hand over Shunsui's pink watch. "That may explain how I came across you."

"You saying fate brought you into my office?" Nanao had to admit, an architecture firm wasn't exactly her first choice of a work field, but she had needed a job, and they were looking for an accountant. So she applied for the job.

"Maybe. My mother also said that things that aren't their natural colour, are rare and priceless. So hold onto them and cherish them." Nanao smiled as she wove her fingers through Shunsui's.

"Your mother sounds like a very smart woman." Nanao smiled as she leaned against him. "I like this place. I think it's perfect."

"I think so too. Shall we tell Yorichi, or just keep going through?" Nanao looked up at him, she hoped to at least see the fairy ring.

"Let's stay a little while longer. I want to see the candy cave." Nanao smiled, of course his sweet tooth would pull him there. "Eight more months."

"Eight more months." Nanao spoke as if it was a prayer, she was getting nervous.

* * *

~Shunsui~

Shunsui sat up on the bed, he couldn't stay put anymore. He threw off his formal suit and dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. He grabbed his leather jacket and motorcycle helmet as he made his way to the garage. The got onto his bike and drove off into the heavy air. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still rumbling.

Riding always cleared his head, but the morning was still fresh in his mind. That very morning, when he had been the happiest man in the world.

~morning of the wedding~

Shunsui woke up earlier than he normally did. He got up at 9:30. Anything before noon was early for him.

"Shunsui?" He looked towards his door as someone knocked on it. "Shunsui I swear if you're not up yet-"

Shunsui opened the door and smiled at his best friend, Jushiro Ukitake. "Of course I'm up, Juu-chan. It's my wedding day. How could I possibly sleep?" Shunsui walked back into his room and pulled out his tuxedo.

"Considering you sleep through your own board meetings, and you can sleep no matter what is going on around you, I assumed you would be able to sleep through your own wedding." Shunsui smiled at his friend as he walked towards the bathroom to see what mess his hair was in.

"Any sign of Nanao-chan? I wonder what time she started getting ready?" Shunsui combed through his hair and tied it back. That would do.

"I've seen bride's maids running around, but no bride. So I would assume they have been working on her for a while now." Shunsui walked back to his friend and spied a box in his hand. "This is for you."

Shunsui took the box and opened it. A bright pink tie laid inside it. "Awe. Juu-chan. It's even in my favourite colour." He smiled at his friend as he pulled the tie out of the box.

"Figured you could use a new tie for your wedding. And I guessed you were going to wear a pink one, so there you go." Shunsui sat down beside his friend on the bed. "Something wrong?"

"No. It's just...it's here. Today is the day. Never thought I would be the first out of the two of us to tie the knot." He looked behind him at the tuxedo laid out on it. "To think I would change my bachelor life style for the married life. But if it's with Nanao, I think I can manage."

"I know you can. Hurry up and change. You need to be in that chapel before Nanao." Shunsui waved to his friend as he left.

He easily dressed in the tuxedo and walked out of the room. They had found a small bed and breakfast to stay at. It was between the chapel and the reception location. Plus they had enough rooms for the entire wedding party.

Shunsui walked down the hall and down the stairs. Once he got outside, he was greeted by a man he did not recognize. "Shunsui Kyoraku?"

"Who's asking?" He didn't understand what the hostile feeling he had was.

"Sorry. Sosuke Aizen, I'm a friend of Nanao's from the countryside." He took the man's hand and shook it. He still didn't trust the man. "I can't stay for the whole ceremony, but I wanted to give my congratulations. She's a wonderful person."

"That she is. She is probably still getting ready, and I doubt any of the bride's maid will let you near her. They are a bit viscous." Shunsui walked past the man. He didn't seem bad, but something in him didn't trust him. "Hopefully you can be there for most of the ceremony. I'm sure Nanao would appreciate seeing an old friend."

"I'll try." Shunsui kept walking towards the chapel. Nothing could ruin his day, not even the storm clouds ahead.

* * *

~Nanao~

Nanao walked down the street and found a run down motel. She got a room for the night. There was still about seven and a half hours till the bus showed up. She had enough cash on her to get an apartment, or at least get to another city and then find someplace to stay. But she couldn't stay here, not anymore.

She fell down onto the squeaky bed. Today would have been perfect, but someone had to walk back into her life. It was going to perfectly. Something had to take that all away, or someone.

~wedding day~

Nanao stood in front of a mirror and admired herself. The dress was lace and her hair was curled into a bun. She had her glasses on, because Shunsui liked them, and light makeup on. Nothing could ruin toady.

"Who the hell are you?" Nanao looked towards the door. Her cousin glared at someone she couldn't see.

"I'm a friend of Nanao's from school." She frozen at the sound of his voice. There was no way she could ever forget that voice.

"I'm glad you could make it, Sosuke." Nanao walked to the door and leaned on the frame. "Lisa can you take everyone to the chapel. I'll be there in a bit."

"You sure?" Nanao gave her cousin a reassuring smile. "Okay. Call if you need help. With. Anything." Nanao laughed at her cousin's seriousness.

Nanao was glad her professionalism held. She didn't want to drag her cousin into her problems. And Sosuke was her problem. "What do you want bastard?"

"Such harsh words. And here I thought you had gotten over our little fight." Nanao backed away from his hand.

"You left me. You left me standing there like an idiot. I will never forgive you for that." Nanao glared at him as she walked past him.

"Do you really think he loves you?" She stopped mid-step. "You, the plain girl with her nose in a book? And a man like him? He could have any woman he wanted at a wave of his hand. And you think he would give that up for you?" She stood still as she heard him laugh and walk towards her. "I think your making the same mistake you made with me. And I'll be there to watch the whole thing. Maybe I'll even be there for you to cry on."

Nanao watched as he smiled and walked away from her. She walked back to her room and shut the door.

"He's isn't right...he can't be *sniff* Can't cry. Can't cry. Can't cry." She waved her hands at her face. Lisa would kill her if she ruined the three hours worth of makeup. "He's just trying to get to you. Just like back in high school. He isn't right...is he?"

Nanao looked at herself in the mirror. She could still see the plain girl she was. A bit of makeup and a pretty dress hid that, but not from her own eyes. "Why am I doing this again? He's even my boss! But I love him...but that doesn't mean he does too. It's easy enough for him to say words. He said it to other woman he flirted with when ever they stopped by the office."

Nanao kept on talking as she played with the ring on her hand. She looked down at the little pink heart shining back at her. A tear leaked out of her eye as she bit back a sob. "I can't."

* * *

~Shunsui~

Shunsui stopped at a gas station. He had been riding four at least two hours, but his mind was still clouded with memories. He couldn't go any further. Plus he was out of gas.

He filled up his bike, but he didn't get back on it. He parked it and sat down on the ground beside it. He took deep breaths, but the tears still rolled down his cheeks. Nothing could stop his heart from tearing itself apart.

~wedding day~

Shunsui stood at the front of the church. His best friend stood beside him as his best man.

He didn't know how long they had been waiting. But he suspected it was a while. "Didn't think it would take this long for someone to get ready for their wedding." He laughed with his friend at his little joke.

"She's probably nervous. You remember how she was a month ago?" Shunsui smiled as he remembered Nanao's worry when there was still a month to the wedding. She was so cute when she was worrying.

"Shunsui." He turned and saw Lisa whispering to him from the side door of the chapel. She had a frown on her face and a note in her hand.

He walked towards her worry running through his body. "What is it?"

"Here." He noticed Lisa was actually crying.

He took the note a caught the object that fell out of it. He looked at the small silver band, the little pink jewel sparkled at him. He opened the note nervously. 'I'm sorry Shunsui.' Nothing more was written on the note.

Shunsui held the note as he reread the words, written in Nanao's professional curly script. He couldn't believe them. He wouldn't.

He walked out of the chapel and back towards the bed and breakfast. He walked to the room Nanao had been using to get ready. He opened the door. The room was in perfect order. The bed made, dresser organized, and wedding dress laid out flat on the bed. He walked out of the room.

He went up to the third floor, to their honey moon suite. He opened the door. The bed was made, the floor was clean. And several drawers were open and empty. He opened one of the closed ones. He found some of his clothes from his apartment there. He sat on the bed and stared at the room.

"She's really gone. Why?" He looked down at the note. He noticed tear stains on it. What had happened? Why had she left him? Was it all just a fairy tale, never meant to have a happy ending? "Nanao."

* * *

~Nanao~

Nanao tossed and turned for hours, but sleep would not take her. She sat up and looked at the clock. Still five hours till the bus would show up. She grumbled as she climbed out of bed and slipped her shoes on. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her head.

She slipped her key into her pocket and walked out the side entrance. She walked down the darkened path slowly, so her eyes could adjust to the moonlight. Soon she was walking at a normal pace. She walked through a gate, and closed it silently. The night was too quiet to make any sounds.

She soon found herself in a clearing, with a cliff that showed off the valley below. She sat down at the edge and looked up at the moon. She took her hair out of its regular bun, it felt nice to let it flow with the wind. She dangled her feet against the edge, looking down on the valley.

How easy would it be to jump? To just let it all go?

"You should be careful." Nanao froze at the voice. "It's dangerousness being that close."

'Him? Here?! Why is he here? Did he find me? Was he even looking for me?' Nanao could feel her tears coming back. She didn't suppress the sob that escaped her lips. She heard him begin to walk towards her. "Don't! Don't come any closer." She hated to hear the pleading in her voice, but she couldn't help it. She couldn't face him, not now.

"Nanao?" She heard the surprise in his voice. So he wasn't looking for her. "Nanao." She hadn't realized how close he had gotten. He was beside her and holding her close to him. She couldn't help but melt into his arms as she cried. "It's okay. You're okay. Everything is going to be alright."

"How? How can you be here comforting me when I just left you there? Shouldn't you be mad or something." Nanao couldn't look at his face, she was too ashamed.

"I'm not angry, because I love you. You were scared, so you ran." Nanao shook her head as she finally looked at him.

"That isn't why I left. I just couldn't go through it again. Not after he visited." Nanao pulled her knees up to her chest and pressed her eyes against her knees.

"You mean Sosuke? What did he tell you?" Nanao stayed as she was. She felt Shunsui wrap his arms around her again. She loved the comfort his arms gave her. "Tell me."

"He was my high school sweet heart. The last year of high school, he proposed on the graduation stage. I thought it was a fairy tale. And it was." Nanao wiped her eyes, but the tears wouldn't stop. "He left me standing at the alter. Then the next day I find out that he was partying at a strip club all that day. He broke my heart, he never loved me, he just wanted to play, and I was his toy."

"I'm not playing with you." She looked into his chocolate brown eyes and looked for something that would tell her he was telling the truth. "I love you, Nanao."

"How can I believe you? I can't tell a lie from a truth. It's one thing I have never been good at." She smiled weakly at him. She wanted to believe him, but couldn't find it in herself to believe anymore.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui pulled Nanao close to him. This wasn't a trick of his mind, she really was here. "You don't have to believe right now, you just have to trust me." He placed a hand on her cheek and smiled gently at her. "Just trust me little by little, and I'll protect you. From your past and anything that dares try to harm you. I will always be there for you. I will always protect you, I promise."

"I know you will. That's one thing you always are, a gentleman." Shunsui felt his heart skip as she smiled at him. Even covered in tears she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met.

"I love you Nanao. Will you let me love you? For what ever amount of time we have together." He held her face gently as he wiped away her tears.

"Yes." He smiled as he leaned down and gently kissed her.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	9. What I'm Not

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

Alarms sounded throughout Seireitei. Shinigami ran around in a frenzy. But no one knew why. They hadn't heard anything from their superiors, but they didn't know anything, yet. The Taichous were in a meeting, and the Fukutaichous were handling their squads.

"Okikiba-Fukutaichou, I'm going to go and check on the other squads. Make sure to tell Kyoraku-Soutaichou." Nanao waited till she got a nod from her fellow Fukutaichou. Then went out to check how the other squads where doing. 'Most should be in defence positions.'

Nanao was planning to go around to all of the squads. She needed to check in with the Fukutaichous of each squad so she could get a report from them. But she reached a problem once she got to 5th squad.

"What do you mean none of you can find Hinamori-Fukutaichou? Where else could she possibly be?" Nanao asked the third seat of 5th. He was the one that was organizing the squad.

"No one has seen her since this morning. I'm sorry Ise-Fukutaichou. I don't know what else to tell you." The third seat bowed before returning to his squad, he wasn't used to being in control.

"Thank you for taking over the instruction of your squad." Nanao turned away from squad 5, they were taken care of. Now she needed to find Hinamori and figure out what the girl was up to.

She headed off towards 6th squad. She stopped on the ground when she felt someone following her. She held her ground and waited. "Carriage of thunder, bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudo 61: Rikujokoro!" Nanao turned to see who had cast the kido, it was Rukia.

Nanao felt the kido hit, but she was a master of kido herself. So she easily freed herself from it. "You should have just come quietly, Ise-Fukutaichou." Nanao turned and spotted Renji and Hisagi walking up behind her. "Why the hell would you do that anyway?!"

"Do what? What are you talking about?!" Nanao turned so her back would face the wall behind her. She needed to keep an eye on both groups.

"Aizen." Matsumoto and Kira had landed in front of her, blocking her in on three sides. "Aizen has escaped."

"What?! Is that what the alarm was about? Why haven't I been informed about this?" Nanao tried to fit together what was going on. If Aizen had escaped, why were they going after her? Unless... "A reiatsu trace was found, or the trace of a kido."

"Correct." Nanao looked up behind her, Hinamori and Iba standing on the wall behind her. "It took the investigation squad almost three hours to figure that out. And you got it right away. You sure you don't know anything?"

Nanao hadn't noticed the Fukutaichous walk up closer to her. Not until Renji and Hisagi were holding her arms. "Let go! You're making a mistake! I was with either my squad or checking in with the other squads!"

"What about this morning?" Nanao looked towards Hinamori. She had a stern face, but it looked like she was hiding something.

"Kyoraku-Soutaichou snuck into my room and turned off my alarm clock. I was woken up when the alarm sounded." Nanao had meant to chew Shunsui out about that, but it looked like she wasn't going to get a chance to.

"That sounds like something he would do." Nanao sighed as Matsumoto sided with her.

"But she works with him. Of course she would know how he acts. And unless someone else knew where she was, then her alibi doesn't stand." Nanao nearly growled as Renji countered. "Sorry Ise-Fukutaichou. We can't take chances."

"I understand. I would be doing the same in your position." Nanao stopped struggling.

"Hinamori-kun, can you restrain her reiatsu with a kido?" Kira looked towards the timid Fukutaichou.

"Yep." Nanao stood still as the petite girl walked towards her. She was surprised by the small smile on the girl's lips. Even more surprised when she whispered in a voice that only she could hear. "Thank you for helping Aizen-Taichou."

Nanao reacted, she had one hand grasping the girl's throat and the other pulled back with a flame running between her fingers. "What did you say?" She growled at Hinamori, she was trying to figure out what was going on. "Come to think of it, where were you tis morning, Hinamori-Fukutaichou? Your squad said they hadn't seen you since yesterday."

"Na...nao...san...it hurts." Nanao ignored Hinamori.

She was forced to let go when Renji and Hisagi restrained her again. "What are you doing?!"

She struggled against. "Let me go! I'm not the one who should be in question! She is!" Nanao glared at Hinamori. The girl was rubbing her throat and crying. 'Trying to act like the victim.'

"Ise Nanao, Yu are under arrest for the aid in the escape of Aizen Sosuke." Nanao listened as Rukia spoke sternly, but she could see tears in her fellow Fukutaichou's eyes. "Your rank has been stripped from you, and you are to be imprisoned in the Maggot's Nest, Taichou level. By order of Central 46."

"So this hasn't even gone through the Taichou's yet?!" Nanao yelled as she tried to get out of the men's grip, but she wasn't strong enough. "Fine! If that's how they want to play! Hado 63: Raikoho!" Nanao manipulated the kido to jump around her, causing Renji and Husagi to have to let go of her.

"Nanao! Don't make this any harder than it has to be!" Nanao turned to Matsumoto. The strawberry blond looked worried.

Nanao looked towards Hinamori, he girl was being tended to by Kira. "Get away from her, Kira-Fukutaichou." She spoke in a low growl as she drew her zanpakutou from her sleeve.

"I...Ise-Fukutaichou." Nanao noticed the fear in both of their eyes, but that didn't stop her. "Please...stop this."

"No." Nanao held up her hand and gathered a flame. "Hado 54: Haien."

"Reign upon the frozen heaven, Hyorinmaru!" A thick wall of ice blocked the kido. "Stand down, Ise-san."

Nanao gave Hitsugaya a flat look. "I can't. Not when you defend a guilty party." Nanao looked around as other Taichous began to show up, but one was missing.

"Stand down. You don't stand a chance of standing against us." Nanao looked towards the Taichou of squad 2, Sui-Feng. "Lay down your zanpakutou and surrender."

"I am not taking the fall for this. I didn't do it, and I will take down anyone who dares to say otherwise." Nanao reached up and removed her hair clip. Fire danced across her skin as her reiatsu climbed to match the Taichou's level.

"Rise from the ashes of your defeat, and burn the world with your tears, Fumetsu Fushicho." Nanao pulled her zanpakutou apart into a pair of fans. They were pure black with red, orange, and yellow feathers along its edge. Spikes were hidden within the feathers. The temperature spiked almost as high as it would have with Yamamoto's release. "Stand aside, Hitsugaya-Taichou."

"Are you mad!? Think about what you are doing, Nanao-san!" Nanao turned towards the Twichou of squad 13, Ukitake Jushiro. She knew him quite well, he was Shunsui's best friend after all.

"I am." Nanao noticed the other Taichous move. She brought her fans together over her head. A wall of for enveloped her as she felt multiple attacks hit her shield. "Jikanteishi." Nanao pulled her flames away as she looked around, everyone was frozen. She quickly headed off to the Senkaimon.

"Ise-Fukutaichou! What is the alarm about?" Nanao walked towards them, they didn't seem to know what was going on.

"Aizen Sosuke escaped. There is a high chance he went to the world of the living. I am on my way there to speak with Urahara. He isn't picking up any of our communication attempts." Nanao was glad she could hide her zanpakutou in her sleeves.

"Okay. Did you do something different with your hair? It's not in it's usual bun." Nanao gave them a smile as she walked closer to them.

"Kyoraku-Soutaichou decided I needed to sleep in this morning. So he turned my alarm clock off. I got woken up the alarm sounding and didn't have time to grab my clip." Nanao was glad the order for her arrest hadn't reached past the Fukutaichou level yet.

Nanao smiled as both guards seemed to accept her answer. "Good luck on your mission." Nanao waved as she stepped into the gate. She shot off with shunpo as soon as she was inside the Dangai.

She almost didn't stop in time to stop before she ran into a very tall and sturdy figure. "You seem to be in a rush, Nanao-chan." She tried to move away, but his arms easily stopped her. "How could anyone believe that my lovely Nanao-chan would let such a terrible man loose? My beautiful Nanao-chan would never do that."

"Thank you for the support, Kyoraku-Soutaichou. But there is nothing you can do. Unless you want to go against Central 46. The last time you did that you got off easy. This time will be different. "Please let me go."

"I will help you prove your innocence." Nanao smiled as stepped away from him.

"Keep an eye on Hinamori, she had something to do with Aizen's escape." She placed her fans together and ran her hand over them. Her zanpakutou resealed into it's wakizashi form. "Can you do that for me?"

"Of course. Anything to help my Nanao-chan." Nanao returned his smile with her own. "Anything else you need, Nanao-chan?" Shunsui extended his hand, it had her spare clip in it.

Nanao took the clip and pulled her hair up into it's usual bun. "You've done more than enough. Thank you, Shunsui." She kissed his cheek as she walked past him.

Nanao didn't even blink as Shunsui spun her around and captured her lips with his. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and returned his kiss. She was breathless when they broke their kiss. "Please come back."

"I will. I promise." Nanao stepped away from him. She stopped a few steps away. "Goodbye. Bakudo 99 part 1: Kin." She saw he surprise in Shunsui's eyes as the kido restrained him. She turned and shot out of the gate and into the world of the living.

~2 years later~

Nanao looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was in it's regular bun with her clip and she was adjusting her uniform. She hadn't worn a Shihakusho in a long time. "It fits differently than I remember."

"It's because you finally have a chest." Nanao was taken by surprise when Lisa wrapped her hands around her chest and squeaked lightly. "Nanao-chan became a beautiful woman while she was away from that pervert."

"Lisa-san!" Nanao pulled away and wrapped her arms around her. "How many times have I told you not to do that?!" Nanao readjusted her uniform. It felt strange without the weight of her Fukutaichou badge on it. "Looks like I'm ready."

"You sure you want to go back?" Nanao looked at her good friend. Lisa had been the Fukutaichou of 8th when she was an unseated officer in 8th. The two were quite close. "They accused you and tried to imprison you without any evidence. Are you sure you can trust them?"

Nanao smiled at her before pulling her into a hug. "I would have done the same to any of them. It was orders, even if none of them felt it was right. Central 46 was just making sure there wasn't a traitor. They were wrong, but I understand their choice." She backed away and walked towards the door to the spare room they were in. "Besides, I have a promise to keep."

Nano walked out of the little candy store and was happy to find the store owner there. "Did the Shihakusho fit well?"

Nanao smiled at the blond man. "Yes. Thank you for everything, Urahara-san."

"Not a problem. It's not the first time I had to hide shinigami in the world of the living." Nanao walked up beside the man as he waved his fan towards her. "They should be here soon."

A Senkaimon opened up as soon as he finished. The gate opened and two figures walked out.

"Nanao!" Nanao was surprised by the speed of the woman hugging her. But she had been prepared so she had managed to hold her breath so that she didn't suffocate. She smiled as the strawberry blond Fukutaichou spun around with her. "I was so worried. You disappeared, then Central 46 ordered for your arrest, then they said we had permission to kill you if you resisted, then we found you with Aizen, then we found you nearly dead, then you killed Hinamori, then you showed up and helped us fight Aizen, and now you can come back." Matsumoto was still listing off things, but Nanao was mostly ignoring her.

"Matsumoto. Your going to suffocate Ise-san." Nanao was grateful Hitsugaya had spoken up, she had no air left to ask Rangiku to put her down with. "We should go. We have a meeting to get to."

"Hitsugaya-Taichou. I'm sorry about Hinamori-san." Nanao was sorry for killing the girl. Hinamori had framed Nanao and had also tried to kill her as well. "I know she was a good friend to you."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for not believing you. Hinamori has always admired Azien. I guess she never got past that." Hitsugaya never turned to look at Nanao, he just stared at the gate. "Let's go."

Nanao followed the two into the Senkaimon. They had a quiet walk through the Dangai. And it was even quieter when they stepped out into Seireitei. They picked up the pace and were soon standing outside the meeting hall doors. No one spoke as the doors opened. Nanao followed them inside.

She stood at the end of the two rows as Matsumoto and Hitsugaya took their place in the line. She had her eyes locked on the pink clad figure standing at the front of the room.

"Ise Nanao, welcome back." Nanao kept her eyes locked on Shunsui as she held her ground. The atmosphere in the room was different, almost tense. "You have a full apology from the Central 46, and their thanks in finding the traitor in our ranks, and in aiding with the execution of Aizen Sosuke."

"Thank you, Kyoraku-Soitaichou." Nanao had thought to be more formal, but decided against it. It would have just given Shunsui a reason to go off on a tangent.

"You also have a full apology from the entire Gotei 13. And I'm offering you your position back, Ise-san." Nanao had to admit that it hurt her when he didn't use her nickname, despite how much she hated it.

"I accept your apology, and my position." Nanao cracked a smile as she readjusted her glasses. She noticed all of the other shinigami in the room smile at her response.

"That is all for this meeting. You're all dismissed." Shunsui turned and left the meeting hall through a side door.

Nanao was sad that she wouldn't be able to talk to him. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a lack of oxygen. "Ra...n...gi...ku...can...t...br...eath..." She took a large gasp of air, and ended up coughing, once the blond let her go.

"Sorry Nanao-chan. It's just so good to have you back." Matsumoto picked the girl up again and spun around with her. "The Soutaichou has been so depressed lately. He hasn't been out drinking in a year at least."

"You sound like that's a bad thing." Nanao was surprised to hear that Shunsui hadn't been drinking, or that he wasn't in a drunken depression like when Lisa had been forced to leave.

"It's been a bit strange, but nothing bad." Nanao smiled at Ukitake-Taichou. He seemed to be in good health. "How have you been?"

"I've been fine. After I finally convince Lisa that I wasn't helping Aizen, I stayed with her." Nanao smiled as she spoke to everyone. It felt nice to be back.

"Didn't Kyoraku-Soutaichou got o the world of the living a few times? Wasn't that to visit Yadomaru-san?" Nanao smiled sheepishly as she snuck away from the two.

"Now that I think about it, it was..." Nanao didn't catch the rest of what was said. She had snuck out of the meeting hall with the help of the other Vaisards. They knew what the real purpose of Shunsui's visits to the human world were.

Nanao wasn't sure where she would find Shunsui. She doubted he would be in his office. She didn't want to run around trying to find him either. "Why isn't there someplace where I can always find him?" She sighed heavily as she walked towards 1st squad's barracks. "Might as well should see where my stuff went. And what barrack I've been assigned."

Nanao walked to the front office for the barracks. No one was there so she just let herself into them and looked through the log. "So I'm still in the same one as before. That's convenient." Nanao placed the book back and took the familiar path to her living quarters.

She slid open the door, and stood in shock. All of her stuff was still there. Her kitchen was clean, her floor was polished, and her furniture was dusted. She walked in and explored more. Her room was clean with her bed made, her bathroom was sparkling clean, and the whole house smelled like fresh flowers. She was completely stunned. "How?"

"I ordered your things to be left untouched." Nanao turned and saw Shunsui leaning on her doorframe. "I also had it regularly cleaned for you."

"You didn't have to." Nanao didn't know what else to say.

"But I wanted to. I wanted everything to be here for you when you got back. Because you promised, and my Nanao-chan never breaks her promises." Shunsui smiled at her.

Nanao couldn't hold herself back anymore. She ran into his arms and hugged him tightly. She smiled happily as he held her just as eagerly, b a little bit more gently than she did.

Shunsui placed a hand on her cheek and tilted her head up gently before pressing his lips to hers.

Nanao wrapped her arms around his neck as she returned his kiss. She was breathless when she pulled out of their kiss. "I love you, Shunsui."

Shunsui smiled down at her. "I love you too, Nanao."

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	10. See You Soon(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

* * *

~Shunsui~

Shunsui stood leaning on the large Sakura tree on the middle of the courtyard. He had finally managed to get away from his father. And the woman his father was introducing him too.

"Tired of the party already my friend?" Shunsui looked up from the patch of grass he had been staring at. His eyes fell onto his long time best friend, Ukitake Jushiro. "I'm surprised your father let you wear your pink thing to this party."

"My prized pink kimono is not a thing." Shunsui laughed at his friend's little jab. "How have you been, Juu-chan?"

"Really? Your still going to use that nickname? I would have thought you would have out grown that by now." Shunsui laughed again as his friend glared at him. "Why aren't you flirting?"

"My father has been introducing me to bride candidates. It's been a nightmare." Shunsui liked flirting, he was a romantic type of guy. Being introduced to women that were willing to marry you without even getting to know him, that wasn't what he had pictured when he got married. "None of them are even the least bit interesting. They all only cared about what thy look like and what their status is. Even when I talked to them alone, they are just boring old hags."

"That's a little harsh." Shunsui smiled at Jushiro's concern. "Okay. Let's do this like we used to when we were young. Scan your eyes overt he crowd and when you stop on someone, go talk to her."

"Alright, alright." Shunsui scanned his eyes over the crowed, no one caught his eye. "Jushiro there's-" His eyes locked with a pair of violet eyes. He couldn't look away.

"Go talk to her. Whoever she is." Shunsui got a pat on the back from his friend as he walked away from the tree.

Shunsui's eyes never broke contact with the violet ones. He didn't want to lose sight of them. He looked away when someone jerked his arm back. He met his father's stern brown eyes. "And where have you been? I've been looking for you for almost an hour. Come you have more people to meet."

"I was actually-" Shunsui looked behind him, but the violet eyes were gone.

"You were doing nothing. Except maybe drinking." He let himself get dragged away towards another group of women.

"Good evening, Kyoraku-sama." The two Kyoraku men turned to see a fairly tall man bow towards them.

"Ise-san. It's good to see you again. How have your daughters been?" Shunsui was surprised his father knew the man. He had never seen him before.

"They have been good. My eldest has just married into the Otoribashi clan." Shunsui knew that clan well, they were a lesser noble, but not he higher end of the scale.

"How lovely. And your youngest, Nanao was it?" Shunsui liked the name, it sounded cute.

"It is, Kyoraku-sama." Shunsui caught sight of the woman walking towards them. She wore a purple and black kimono with silver thread embroidered in a swirling pattern.

"Nanao-chan. What brings you over this way? I thought you were with your sister." Shunsui noticed the concern in her father's voice. Was there a problem with her being alone? She seemed like a strong willed person.

"Lisa left me. She said she would be right back, but then I saw her and Rose run off through the back gate." Shunsui kept a straight face as he laughed on the inside. Oh how he wished he could sneak away so easily.

"That is quite a lovely kimono you have there. Is it Ise silk?" Shunsui hadn't taken much notice to the kimono, other than how beautiful it was on the woman.

"It is. It's an old bolt though. The newer ones are for the more noble women, who look much better in the them than I ever could." Shunsui frowned at her statement. And as if sensing his disagreement,she looked towards him.

Shunsui could have sworn that his heart had stopped. He was staring into the same violet eyes that had entranced him earlier. He couldn't say a word or even think. He just looked at her.

"Thank you for inviting us this even, Kyoraku-sama. Have a pleasant evening." Shunsui still had Nanao's eyes locked with his as her father ushered her away.

"Do not even contemplate it." Shunsui turned to his father, he was frowning at him. "She is of a lower status than you. Much lower. You are a high noble and she is only a mid lesser noble. Completely unfit for you."

"At least she spoke of something other than her looks or her status." Shunsui mumbled as he followed his father.

"Good evening ladies." Shunsui put on a smile as his father engaged another group of women in a conversation. "How are we doing this evening?"

"Quite well, Kyoraku-sama." Shunsui smiled at his second long time friend, Unahana Retsu. "Do you mind if I borrow your son for a quick chat?"

"I don't mind at all. Take your time." Shunsui smiled at his father as he followed his friend towards the gardens.

"Thank you Retsu-chan, I owe you." Shunsui was glad his friends were on his side.

"No problem. I just thought you would rather talk to someone other than those stuck up women." Shunsui was surprised by her choice of words, she usually wasn't hostile. "And by someone, I mean that woman you were gawking at so openly."

"Gawking? I don't gawk." Shunsui frowned at Unahana, she was teasing him.

"Oh? Then what do you think of the woman in the purple kimono staring at you?" Shunsui didn't know what she was talking about. He looked around the garden till he spotted her. She was leaning against a tree and instantly blushed and looked away once their eyes met. "See. You're gawking. Now go get her." He looked back at his friend as she winked at him before walking away.

Shunsui took a deep breath before heading off in her direction. She only looked back when he was only a few steps away from her. "G...g...good evening...Kyoraku-sama."

"Good evening, Ise-san. And please, call me Shunsui. Kyoraku-sama is my father, and I am nothing like him." Shunsui gave her a smile, it only widened when she blushed again. "Can I call you Nanao-chan?"

"You most certainly may not!" He was surprised by her outburst. "S...s...sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's okay, Nanao-chan." Shunsui smiled, he was hoping she would react again.

"Please do not call me that." He was even more surprised at how stern her voice had turned. "If you only intend to tease and nothing more, I'm sure you can find someone who would much rather have your attention, Kyoraku-sama." He grabbed her hand as she walked past him.

"Right now, you've caught my attention." He gently turned her back to face him. "You are the first woman I have spoken to at this party, that has cared more about what I call her than what she looks like, and the first to yell at me. You have my very complete attention. And that is hard to accomplish and get rid of, my dear Nanao-chan."

"I'm not your anything. And please stop calling me Nanao-chan. " Shunsui smiled at her, she was very interesting. She was giving him a glare, it was almost on par with one of Retsu's, but he was immune to those. And Nanao's unique eyes seemed to have a very strong power over him.

"Kyoraku no Jiro Sozosuke Shunsui!" Shunsui turned and faced the only person that would ever call him out by his first name, his mother. "Here is your father and I looking for you, and you are alone with a woman. Who is she?" Shunsui wished his mother wouldn't be so harsh, but he was the problem child, so she always was stricter with him than his brother.

"This is Ise Nanao. Is there a problem if I speak with her?" Shunsui gave his mother a fake smile, he always did.

"Not if you only intend to talk, but what business would you have with her. Unless you intend on ordering another one of your atrocious kimonos." Shunsui gave his mother a glare. "Don't you give me that look."

"So this is where you went off to, Nanao. Your father had wondered where you went off to." Shunsui turned and spied another woman walking towards them. She looked like Nanao, just older and with crystal blue eyes. She must be Nanao's mother. "Oh my. So it was you who ordered that kimono, Kyoraku-sama. Blue is most certainly your colour, and that pattern looks spectacular on you." Shunsui watched as she wrapped her arms around Nanao's neck and pulled her close.

"I should have guessed she was your daughter. Only women with your family's blood would dare to seek a man above their standing." Shunsui turned to yell at his mother, but he caught sight of his father walking up behind his mother. This was going to be trouble.

"Hello again, Nanao-chan. Have you had a good even so far? Other than your sister running off with her husband of course." Shunsui hated the way his parents spoke to other families.

This was the way higher nobles were suppose to act? He would easily give it up. Especially if that meant he didn't have to deal with them.

"So this is where my darlings are." Shunsui wondered how many people were going to show up. By the looks of it, only his brother and Nanao's sister was missing. "It was a lovely party, Kyoraku-sama. I look forward to the next one."

"I wouldn't plan on it, Ise-san. I would also not expect to receive any orders for us either." Shunsui stared at his father in disbelief. Ise silk was the finest, and his father never got anything but the best. "It would be best if the Ise clan never had contact with the Kyoraku clan ever again. For your safety of course."

"Are you threatening my family, Kyoraku-sama?" Shunsui looked between the two families. Both sets of parents looked ready to kill each other. "Very well, but know that if I hear anything about someone in my family, relatives included, being hurt or threatened again. There will be blood to pay for it."

Shunsui stared in disbelief as the Ise family walked away. He was a little hurt that Nanao never have him a second glance, but knew it was probably best.

"I told you to stay away. They are nothing but trouble." Shunsui had, had enough.

"You're the one that caused the problem in the first place! You already have someone to take over as family head! Why not let me live my life as I see fit to live it?" Shunsui didn't intend to yell, but he didn't care at the moment.

"If that is how you feel, then I shall correct your thoughts." Shunsui didn't like the tone in his father's voice. He was up to something.

Shunsui went straight to his room, he didn't want to be at the party anymore. He paced his room as he thought of what to do. By about sunset, he had a plan. He was going to elope with Nanao.

After he got her to agree to leave with him.

And he managed to talk to her.

And get out of his family's manor without being seen.

"This might be a little trickier than I thought." Shunsui thought of how to get out of the house. "Wait a minute. I've been trained to do that my whole life." Shunsui hit himself as he remembered what his family was, the top worrier clan among all the higher noble clans.

He slipped his pink kimono off his shoulders and changed into a deep blue hakama and kosode. He was going to finally have a use for all the training and studying he did as a child.

He easily snuck out of his room and to the garden. He made it out the secret gate, a hole in the hedge, and out into the back ally. He made his way to the Ise estate. It was surprisingly close to the Kyoraku estate. He easily made it past the guards. Now he just needed to find Nanao's room. How hard could that be?

~Nanao~

Nanao stormed off to her room. She was angry, but couldn't understand why. She had been told she would never speak to Shunsui again, but the fact was that he was the only one that wasn't trying to get a trophy wife. He seemed genuinely interested in her, not what she looked like or what her status was. She had been upset when her father had basically declared war on Shunsui's family.

She got to her room and screamed her head off in frustration.

"That isn't healthy for your throat." She knew that voice. She had only been replaying it in her head for the past few hours. She turned and smiled as she spotted Shunsui sitting on her porch. "You guys should buff up security. Knowing my father, he will probably try something. And it was fairly easy to get past your guards."

"I'll let my father know. Leaving out that you told me yourself though. My father really hates your father, and my mother simply loathes yours. I wonder why." Nanao could understand what her father meant by 'she wouldn't understand.', because she didn't.

"My parents have always been like that, stuck up and too powerful." Nanao looked at him curiously. Did he hate having so much power and influence in his family?

"Nanao-sama? Is everything alright?" Nanao panicked, she couldn't let the guards find Shunsui.

She pulled him into her room and stepped out of her door just as one of her family's guards rounded the corner of the house. "Everything is just fine. Just taking out some frustration."

She gave him a smile like she usually did with all the guards, they all still saw her as the little Hime-chan they had to protect. "Okay. We'll be doing regular patrols throughout the night. Sleep well, Nanao-sama."

Nanao waved as he turned around. She then walked back into her room. She glared at the smug smile Shunsui was giving her. "What are you looking at?" She walked over to her lamps and started lighting them. It was starting to get dark.

"You let them call you Nanao-sama, but I can't call you Nanao-chan? Why is that?" Nanao rolled her eyes as she lit a second lamp and a short lamp.

She carried the short one over to where Shunsui was sitting on her futon. "It because they are actually related to my family. You on the other hand are part of a family that has declared war on my family and vice versa."

"That didn't stop me from wanting to see you again, Nanao-chan." Nanao blushed as he leaned close to her. She had a strong urge to kiss him, but she held back. "Sorry if I over step my boundaries, but it seems you wish to do something. Would it perhaps...be this?" Nanao held her breath as his lips brushed against hers, she couldn't help herself, she pressed her lips against his.

They pulled apart after what felt like eternity, but also felt like only a second. Nanao was going to say something, but a small sound on the ceiling stopped her. She looked up as Shunsui did as well. She saw him turn the lamp off and he told her to stay put as he turned off the other two. She sat quietly as he plunged the room into darkness.

She felt and arm around her waist as the sounds on the ceiling increased. She felt herself being placed in a corner of the room. "Stay here and stay quiet. I will protect you." She smiled as she heard Shunsui whisper softly in her ear. She felt his lips lightly press against hers again before the heat from his body began to disappear.

She waited in the darkness, listening to the sound of the wind chimes outside. She soon heard the sound of a door sliding open. They were usually well oiled so they didn't make a sound, but she hated the smell of the oil that was used. So hers made a slight sound as they slid across the floor. She didn't move, not wanting to give herself away.

Her eyes grew wide as she heard the sound of a sword being drawn. 'Oh my gosh. His father wants me dead. Well that is going to make things awkward when I explain this to my father.' Nanao could see a bit from the moon light lighting up the doors to the porch. She could see silhouettes make their way towards her futon. There were about five that she saw, and they were all fairly small, but very well armed. Each one had at least two swords strapped to their backs.

She watched as they surrounded the futon and aimed their swords at it. They all thrust at the same time, but all that was heard has a thud. She watched as two of them pulled the blanket back to reveal their swords thrust through spare blankets and imbedded in the floor.

Nanao caught sight of a larger dark figure sneak up on them and take two swords from the five of them. She could tell it was Shunsui by his stature. She noticed the five seemed to know who he was, but that didn't stop them from attacking him. 'So his father doesn't care if he dies. Rotten bastard.'

Nanao watched as Shunsui easily avoided their swords, trying to make as little noise as possible. She saw him strike down two of the five, neither moved a muscle. The other three were weary of him, but where soon attacking again.

Nanao watched while staying still, she felt like she was being watched, or hunted. 'There must be another one, one that we haven't seen yet.' Nanao stayed still as she watched Shunsui take care of the last remaining intruders. Nanao wanted to move, but the feeling of being watched kept her still, she was terrified of the feeling.

It was then that she heard the scraping sound. And it was getting closer to her. She held back her urge to scream and run, that would only get her killed. She held her ground as the sound got closer, then stopped. She held her breath as she listened for a sound, but she couldn't hear anything.

*THUD*

She held still as she felt something land beside her head. She looked towards the sound and saw steel right at her eye level. She looked up the sword and was frozen by fear, she saw a pair of cold eyes staring at her. "Die." Nanao couldn't move, she didn't feel like it would help.

She watched as the blade got closer, but then her view was blocked by a large dark mass. The scraping of metal on metal sounded like thunder in the quiet room.

*THUD* *THUMP*

"Are you alright, Nanao?" Nanao moved her eyes from staring directly ahead up to meet Shunsui's warm brown eyes. All she saw was concer, it made her cry. She heard Shunsui drop the swords he had been holding before pulling her into an embrace. "It's okay Nanao. It's okay. You're safe now. No one is going to hurt you."

She wrapped her arms around him as she cried. She didn't know why she was crying, she was happy that he was unharmed, but scared that someone could so easily order someone's execution. And not even care if his own son was killed as well.

"What's going on here!" Nanao looked towards the door to her room as her father and several other men burst into the room with lanterns. "Nanao?!"

"Here father, I'm alright." Nanao hoped to explain to her father what had happened, before he could jump to conclusions. "Let me explain."

"You!" Nanao sighed as her father realized who was behind her. "I thought I made it very clear, that if anything happened to my family, you would pay for it with your blood, Kyoraku."

"Dad listen-" she squeaked as one of the guards picked her up and walked away with her. "Put me down! Dad listen to me!"

"There is no need for you to explain, I understand. So that is what your father planned. For you to lead assassins into my house, then kill them all to make it seem like you were our saviour." Nanao stared at her father, was he serious? "Well, we shall not be fooled so easily. Take him down to the dungeon. We shall deal with him in the morning."

"Dad! Would you listen to me for once!?" Nanao kicked against the guard that still held her. She cursed herself a bit for being a lightweight.

"Take her to the spare room. She needs her rest." Nanao glared at her father in the dim light.

Nanao glanced one last time at Shunsui as the guard walked out of the room and down the hall with her still draped over his shoulder. "I can walk on my own." She spoke sternly, she did not like being treated like a child. And the guards knew that.

"Of course, Nanao-sama. Are you sure you're alright? Why didn't you call for help?" Nanao looked at the guard, it was the same she had talked to earlier.

"Because I didn't need any. Shunsui had it completely under control. And he did not lead them here. He was here long before they showed up. Plus, they were surprised to see him here." Nanao walked into the spare room without looking at the guard.

"The Kyoraku clan is dangerous. They are trained to kill without mercy at a very young age, and to do it by any means." Nanao looked at the guard with an unamused look. "Please sleep well, Nanao-sama."

Nanao closed the doors and waited for the sound of his foot steps to recied. She quickly walked to the closet and opened it. She knew the house layout by heart. This spare bedroom, had the dojo robes in it. "They may be trained to kill, but I am trained to protect." Nanao pulled out one of the black uniforms and quickly changed. "Good thing I am also trained in spying. Otherwise I would never make it past the guards."

Nanao pulled a mask up to cover half of her face and slipped out of her room. She made it down the hall easily, but stopped once she heard voices. She got closer and listened.

"What shall we do with him, Ise-sama?" It was the head of the guards.

"Kyoraku wanted to force me into submission by killing my youngest, or having her fall in love with him." She rolled her eyes at her father. "So we shall strike him back. Tomorrow we shall return him, in pieces wrapped in rags."

She covered her mouth to stop herself from making a sound. 'How can he think of killing so easily? I need to get Shunsui out of here.' She continued down the hall and peaked around the corner. There was a guard standing infront of the door that led down to the dungeon, it was really just the basement with chains mounted to the wall. 'Now how to get past him?'

Nanao looked around till she spotted one of her old dolls. She picked it up and noticed the slobber on it. 'So the dogs like it. They probably took it away so they wouldn't fight. Perfect.' Nanao slid the door in front of her open and threw the doll into the yard. She watched as the three dogs they had began fighting over the doll. 'Good boys.'

She retreated to the wall and peered around the corner again. She heard one of the dogs yelp. Nanao smiled as the guard walked towards the patio door and slid it open, then run towards the dogs to stop them. Nanao snuck up and peered outside. The guards wasn't paying attention, she rushed down the stairs.

She forgot the last step was lower than the others. She fell, but recovered by rolling. She never made a sound. She looked around, no one was down here other than Shunsui. She stood up and ran over to him.

"Miss me?" She pulled her mask off as she approached him. She saw a smile spread across his face.

"I didn't know you could sneak so well." Nanao smiled as she reached into the pouch under her belt and pulled out a pair of picks. "Or that you could pick locks."

"My mother's name is Ise, my fathers was Shihoin. He took my mother's name because he was mad at his father for giving the title of family head to his sister. He taught me how to defend myself, but it was never good at fighting. Sneaking and lock picking on the other hand." Nano smiled as she heard the soft click of the lock turning. "It's my speciality." She winked as she began working on his other hand.

"Shihoin? You mean like Shihoin Yorichi?" Nanao nodded as she continued to work. "Wow. The Shihoin clan is a higher noble clan you know. Why is your family only lesser noble?"

"Because my father refused to have anything to do with his family. He's stubborn like that." She smiled as the lock clicked. "I need to get you out of here. My father plans to kill you."

She went to move, but found herself in Shunsui's embrace. "Run away with me." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Could she? Could they really do that?

Nanao looked up at him, he looked worried. Was he worried about her? "Okay." She smiled at him. They could do it.

"You're not taking her anywhere." Nanao looked towards her father. He was standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. "Come here Nanao."

"No! Dad you need to understand this!" She yelled at him, because it seemed like nothing else was going to work.

She glared at her dad as he placed his hands on his hips. "I understand everything-"

"NO YOU DON'T. I love him!" Nanao surprised herself. She hadn't even told her parents she loved them in years.

"No you don't. You have only been tricked into thinking that. Now come here." Nano stared at him in disbelief. How could he just ignore her like this? "Nanao! Come. Here. Now!"

"No. I will not." Nanao glared at him with as much rage as she could muster.

"Then you leave me no choice but to put you in harms way. Hopefully what I have taught you will help keep you alive." Nanao didn't break eye contact with her father as she watched the guards file into the room. "Hit Nanao as least as possible."

Nanao saw a shuriken fly, she pulled out her kunai and deflected it. Several more flew by she deflected most and only dodged a few.

She nearly tripped, but Shunsui caught her. "You're very nimble. Would you like some help?"

Nanao smiled up at him. "How good are you at throwing?"

"Pretty good, if I do say so myself." She rolled her eyes at him. He pulled her up and away from incoming shurikens. A few kunai were also mixed in.

Nano picked up one of the kunai. "Then start throwing. Please, try not to kill. They are my family after all."

"Of course, my lovely Nanao-chan." Nanao smiled at him, she could get used to him calling her Nanao-chan.

She noticed that once she got far enough away from Shunsui, they would stop coming towards her. So she kept herself fairly close to him.

"Nanao when will you see reason!? He is trying to get you killed!" Nanao glared at her father.

She took one of her kunai and threw it at him. It flew by his cheek, causing a small cut. "When will you see reason?! You're the one calling the shots! You're the one who told them to attack! You're the one-" She felt a sting in her chest. She pressed her hand to were the pain was, near her heart, and pulled her hand away. Thick red blood covered her hand.

"Nanao!" She heard Shunsui yell as she fell into his arms. "Nanao!" She looked at him, but couldn't speak, it hurt too much. She felt tears run down her dpcheeks as she began to cry. "It's okay Nanao. I'm here, nothing is going to happen to you."

"I'm scared." She was surprised at how soft her voice sounded. She sounded like a child.

"You don't have to be. I'm right here, there's nothing to be scared of." She could see tears forming in his eyes as well.

"Kiss me." She whispered softly as she felt her limbs grow light and airy. The cold she felt began to change to warmth. She closed her eyes as she felt his lips press against hers. She opened them and smiled at his sad face. "I love you, Shunsui."

"I love you too, Nanao." She liked the sound of just her name in his voice. She felt her eyelids grown heavy as she struggled to stay awake. "Nanao. Nanao stay with me. Nanao..." His voice drifted away with her consciousness.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui looked down at the pale body in his arms. He could feel her heart still as her limbs turned to ice. Her blood still hot as it soaked deeper into his clothes. He didn't stop the tears that feel from his eyes. His heart was shattering to pieces.

"This is all your fault." He didn't look up at the man towering over him. "This is what you deserve."

"See you soon, Nanao." Shunsui closed his eyes and he waited for the blade above his neck to come down. He didn't have to wait long, all he felt was the first thrust.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	11. Nothing To Be Scared Of

I do not own Bleach.

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Rain fell in bucketfuls with no sign of letting up. No sound was heard over the rain hitting the ground. The ground was a muddy pond with streams of water flowing through it. An endless stream of brown, murky water

The dense rain blurred out the landscape, it was almost unrecognizable. It made it hard for the people running around to spot each other. It was near impossible for them to spot the people they're were looking for. But the two hidden by rain, didn't know they were being searched for. They were too busy with their own problems.

"I think we're lost." Nanao was tired of the rain. Shunsui had decided to go for a walk that afternoon, which turned into a picnic, then a swimming trip, and finally a nap. There were rarely any days that just she and Shunsui could do something together, without being followed.

It had started raining just as she was starting to dry off. Her clothes were now wet with her now re-dampened swimsuit and towel. Luckily, since it was the summer, the rain was hot and didn't chill her, but she knew she was going to get a cold if she didn't dry off soon.

"It thought my lovely Nanao-chan loved the rain?" Shunsui walked beside her with a smile on his face, he was enjoying spending more time with her. The rain only helped to keep them lost together for a little while longer.

"I love watching the rain, I hate being stuck in it." Nanao tried to sense reiatsu in the rain, but it was hard to concentrate with it constantly falling in her eyes and running down her back. Rain was distracting. "Can you sense anything?"

"Nope. And I'm still not getting any service on the phone thingy." Shunsui didn't think it would work anyway. There was just as much rain inside the phone as there was outside of it. "Maybe we should stop and wait for the rain to stop?"

*ROAR*

They both stopped in their tracks.

*RAWR*

"Two of them?" Nanao didn't think Hollows would form group, not in Soul Society. That made it easier for squad 12 to detect and locate them.

*ROAWR*

"Three." Shunsui had a hand on each of his zanpakutou. He saw Nanao pull hers out. 'She's so cute when she get serious.'

Two fairly large Hollows walked out from between the trees.

Shunsui unsheathed Katen Kyokotsu as he scanned the area for the third Hollow. "Can you handle them, Nanao?"

"Yes." Nanao already had her zanpakutou out in front of her. "Wash them away, Mizu Sen'nyo." Her wakizashi split into a pair of Sai as the rain around her stopped midair. "If the last one is hiding, he isn't going to stay hidden for long. Please don't take too long, Soutaichou."

"So serious Nanao-chan. And don't worry." Shunsui headed off to find the last Hollow.

It didn't take long for him to find the Hollow, it was waiting in a clearing not far into the tree line. "I would have thought the woman would have come thisss way. Ssshe ssseemed much weaker than you." The Hollow hissed as he slithered around the circular clearing. "You sssure you ssshould have left her alone. Thossse two aren't asss nicsse as I am."

"Nanao-chan isn't as weak as she looks. And she does much better in open spaces." Shunsui pointed his wakizashi at the Hollow. "Myself, on the other hand," He stepped back into the shadow of the tree beside him. He emerged from the shadow behind the Hollow. Shunsui lashed out at the Hollow. "Does much better in these kind of situations."

The Hollow sustained wounds on its shoulder and torso. The tip of his tail had also been severed, but nothing to major. "Ssso thisss iss the ssstrength of a Taichou. The woman isss doomed-" The Hollow stopped once he felt his mask begin to crack. He backed away as half of it was ripped off. "Ah! You'll pay ssshinigami! You'll pay!"

Shunsui dodged the Hollow's attack. He swiftly cut through the rest of it's mask while it was still enraged and careless. He sheathed his zanpakutou and began walking back towards Nanao.

"KYA!" Shunsui began running at the sound of Nanao's voice. He broke into the clearing just as the two Hollows began to evaporate. He didn't stop till he reached Nanao, she was barely holding herself up. "Shun...sui?" Nanao collapsed just as Shunsui wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Nanao. Everything is going to be just fine sweet heart. You did well." Shunsui sat down and laid her against his chest. He easily found the gaping hole in her abdomen. He began applying healing kido to the wound. The fact that the blood was pooling in a bubble helped to reassure him that she wasn't going to bleed out anytime soon. "I didn't know you could do this with your Shikai."

"I can't... This is my Bankai... Mizu no Kami." Nanao smiled up at Shunsui as she tried to not pass out from the pain. It was hard enough to keep her Bankai active. It help to contain the wound that ran through her.

"Nanao-chan had Bankai? And she didn't tell me? Why would my lovely Nanao-chan keep such a secret from her lovely Shunsui?" Shunsui smiled as he tried to heal her, it wasn't going well.

"You didn't need to know-" Nanao covered her mouth as she began to cough. Drops of blood floated away from her had as she pulled it away. "I'm scared."

Shunsui chuckled a bit as he brushed loose strands of her hair out of her face. "Don't be. I'm here, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you." He placed his hand back on her stomach, the blood had fallen and was pooling beneath him. "You're going to be okay, I promise."

Nanao pulled herself closer to Shunsui, her body was growing cold. "Hold me."

Shunsui dragged his kimono off his shoulder and across Nanao's. "My Nanao-chan wants to be close to her Shunsui?" He smiled down at her as he worked on healing her wound, it was going very slowly. And she was loosing blood, fast.

"Of course...I love you..." Nanao let her hair fall over her eyes, her clip had been lost during her fight with the Hollows.

Shunsui tucked her hair away from her eyes. His hand was covered in blood, he had done all he could to heal her. Luckily she had stopped bleeding, but she had already lost a lot of blood. He held her cheek in his hand, it was cold and lightly dusted with pink. "I love you too, Nanao."

"I'm sorry." Nanao had tears in her eyes as she looked up into Shunsui's smiling face.

"What for, my lovely Nanao-chan? You haven't done anything wrong." Shunsui brushed her falling tear away with his thumb. Blood smeared across her cheek.

Nanao looked away from his happy face. "I've been pushing you away...More lately than usual...It hurt you...But you still tried...I don't deserve you-"

"You're wrong. You deserve better than me. Better than a womanizing flirt like me. I will always love you, Nanao. I don't need your love back, I just want you to know that there is someone who loves you." Shunsui felt tears sting his eyes as he watched Nanao's begin to grow dim. "I love you, Nanao." He gently pressed a kiss to her lips.

Nanao returned his kiss as her hand buried itself into his hair. She had imagined how soft his hair would feel, she was close, but her imagination had fallen short. She felt him pull away all too soon. She smiled at him weakly, she felt her consciousness begin to slip. "I ... love you too ... Shun ... sui ..."

The rain began to pound against Shunsui's back and shoulders. "Nanao?" He couldn't hear himself over the pounding rain. "Nanao!" Only a horse whisper reached his ears. He coughed, he felt like he was inhaling water.

"Shunsui!" He looked down at Nanao, but it didn't seem to come from the limp body in his arms. "Shunsui, wake up!" Another wave of water hit his face.

Shunsui sat bolt upright. He took heavy breaths as he looked around the room. It was night, the room lit only by moonlight and the light from the bathroom. He ran a hand through his damp hair as he caught his breath.

"Shunsui?" He looked behind him, Nanao looked at him with worry and a half full glass of water in her hands. She set the glass down not he bedside table before crawling towards him. Nanao noticed the tears in his eyes and ran her hands through his hair. "It's okay, everything is fine. It was just a dream. Just a terrible unreal dream."

"Not as unreal as I would like it to be." Shunsui pushed past the lump in his throat. He wrapped his arms around her and gently pulled her back down. "Sorry to wake you."

"Tell me about it." Nanao look into his eyes as she ran a finger over his chin. "I'm your wife, you can tell me. I will always be there beside you, to support and comfort you." She repeated part of their vows before she gently kissed him. "Tell me."

Shunsui smiled at his wife, they had been married for almost a year now. He ran a hand over her enlarged stomach, they were finding out its gender the next day. "It was that day I almost lost you. But this time...I did." He felt a tear leak out of his eye, but it was wiped away by a gentle hand. "It scared me, Nanao. I'm scared to lose you."

"You won't lose me." Nanao gave her husband one more kiss before snuggling up close to him. "We have a big day tomorrow. Good night Shunsui. I love you."

"I love you too, Nanao." Shunsui kissed her fore head as he held her close to him. "Sleep well, my lovely Nanao-chan."

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	12. Finding(AU)

I do now own Bleach.

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~Shunsui~

Shunsui fixed his bow in the mirror, he didn't know how Jushiro had convinced him to attend Byakuya's masquerade party. He didn't like ritzy, high end parties. He was quite content with a few cases of beer and a few close friends, not parties where he had to wear a suit.

"Better get this over with." Shunsui walked out of the hallway as he slid his mask down from his forehead and into the crowd of party attenders. Curtains were draped everywhere and the lights where dimmed, but there was enough people to make he room seem even less bright. "Yep, definitely not my kind of party." He grabbed a champagne glass from a tray of a server that was walking by.

"Already drinking?" Shunsui turned and found his best friend standing there. It was easy to tell it was him even with his mask on, his white hair gave him away. "Honestly, I invite you to a party to try and get you out of your slump, and the first thing you do is grab a drink? Why did I expect anything different?" Jushiro smiled at him, it was easily to spot Shunsui, he was the only man wearing pink. "Why don't you find someone to dance with? I'm sure you'll find someone that is up to your level."

"I highly doubt that, Jushiro." Shunsui took a look around the room. No one he could see caught his eye. "High society women. They love parties and talking, not dancing." He finished off his champagne as he began walking further into the party.

"You never know, there might be someone. You just need to not be drinking so much, and look around more." Jushiro grabbed the champagne glass his friend had picked up out of his hand. "Honestly, is the only reason you come to parties like this is to drink?" He took a sip of the champagne, it was rather good.

"When my friends don't take them out of my hand, yes, it usually is the only reason." Shunsui frowned as his friend drank. He turned his gaze back to the crowd on the edge of the dance floor, no one was dancing to the music being played by the live band. He sighed as he scanned the crowd for possible partners.

His eyes were drawn to one woman. She wore a black and purple dress with a matching mask. She seemed to be looking the dance floor as well. The crowd seemed to part and give him a full view of her. She was average height, but her black heels probably gave her an extra inch or two. Her hair was pined up into a bun with the lace from her mask tied in a heat bow just below it. She fiddled with her gloves as she seemed to also be looking around for a dance partner.

"Find someone?" Shunsui looked back toward his friend. Jushiro smiled at Shunsui before taking another sip of champagne. "Go get her."

Shunsui smiled as he walked off towards the woman. She didn't seem to notice him walk towards her. He tapped her on the shoulder and she seemed to almost jump in surprise. "Would you like to dance?" He held his hand out and smiled gently at her.

"I doubt you could keep up." He returned her smirk as he met her eyes, they were violet. "But if your willing to try and perhaps make a fool of yourself, feel free." He chuckled as she took his hand.

"I'll try not to disappoint." He led the intriguing woman out onto the dance floor as another song began. He was surprised when she took her position for the song, it was a tango. 'So she can dance.'

He led her through the steps and guided her through spins and around the dance floor. Shunsui was surprised by her grace and mastery of the dance style.

"You keep up quite well. Most men tend to lose confidence when they find a partner with higher or equal skill than them." Shunsui have her another smile as he changed their step pattern, she followed his steps. "And I quite like the unpredictability."

Shunsui was liking the sound of her voice, it sounded familiar to him. "Have we met before? I feel like I know you."

He frowned as she laughed. "No, we don't know each other. I doubt the great Shunsui Kyoraku would know a broke university student such as myself."

"Now how do you know who I am if we don't know each other? I don't believe I ever told you who I was." Shunsui was very curious now. Who was this woman?

"Of course you didn't, this is a masquerade. We aren't suppose to know who each other are, but you have a reputation of wearing pink, often." The woman smiled at him.

"Then if you are just a university student, how did you get an invite to such a high end party? Are you someone's date for the evening?" Shunsui didn't want to think that, but it was a possibility.

"Yes I am. And what about you? From your repertoire, this isn't your scene either." Shunsui was very surprised by the woman's comment. How did she know so much about him?

"What else do you know about me?" Shunsui was trying to see if he could find out how she knew so much about him.

"Well, you take your coffee black with a jasmine tea bag added into it. You can tell by the smell whether or not sugar has been added or if the sugar enriched jasmine tea was used." Shunsui was very surprised that she knew that. "Not to sound like a stalker. It's just something I picked up over the past few months."

"Are you an intern?" He knew he had gone a few mornings without coffee because interns had gotten his coffee wrong. The only time it wasn't wrong was when he went to the shop himself or gave the interns specific instructions. A few now knew how to get it right.

The woman gave a snort. "I wish. To work at Seireitei, the top architecture firm in the city. Hueco Mondo is close, but Seireitei is the best of the best. Sadly there aren't any open positions. I've already looked into applying for a few years now, but no luck so far."

"I could put in a good word for you." Shunsui quite liked her, he definitely wanted to get to know her better.

"It's okay. I'm in my final year, I can just apply for a full time position when I graduate. And if I don't make it, then I will just apply somewhere else. That's how I ended up at the university I'm at." Shunsui couldn't help but admire her. She had settled for less than what she had wanted, and was still aiming for the top. He found himself liking her more.

*DONG* *DONG* *DONG*...

"Is it that late already? I have to go. Thank you for the dance." Shunsui was surprised when she suddenly ran off. He managed to catch her right hand, but her glove slipped off and she got away. He caught sight of a small Sakura shaped tattoo on her hand as she vanished into the crowd.

"Did you scare her off?" Shunsui nearly jumped as his friend snuck up on him. Jushiro looked at the crowd as the people milled about. He couldn't spot the girl either. "Tough luck, it looked like you two were connecting rather well. Who was she?"

Shunsui looked at the crowd, hoping to see the mystery woman again. He looked down at the still warm lace glove in his hand. "I don't know Jushiro, I don't know."

~Nanao~

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Nanao got up from her bed and pressed the snooze button.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

She glared at it as she turned the alarm setting off.

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

She pulled the cord out of the wall socket. "HA! Take that!"

*BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP*

Nanao nearly collapsed to the floor. She noticed her phone on the carpet at her feet flashing. She opened her phone and saw that it was her phone that was going off. She looked at the time, 6:48. "CRAP! I'm going to be late!"

She rushed around her room as she grabbed her back she had packed the previous day and an energy bar from her cabinet as she rushed towards the door. She grabbed her keys and locked the door as she left her apartment.

She flew down the stairs and hit the pavement at a run. She easily made it to the cafe down the road before 7. She apologized to the manager as she changed into her uniform. "My alarm didn't go off properly. Sorry about that, Urahara."

The blond man laughed at her excuse, she was always there earlier than anyone else sometimes, so he wasn't concerned about her being nearly late. "Don't worry about it. You weren't late, so there is no harm done."

Nanao notices a familiar person walk towards the door to the cafe. 'Right on time.' Pulled a tall cup out and poured coffee into the cup while she held onto the edge of a jasmine tea bag. She placed a lid over it as he walked up to the counter and placed his order.

Nanao watched as her co-worker, Rangiku, leaned back to tell her the bizarre order she had gotten. "I've got a-" Nanao placed the cup down on the counter as she walked past Rangiku to the register the the left of her. She was on cash, but that didn't mean she was going to let someone else screw up. "Thanks Nanao!"

Nanao watched as Shunsui checked the cup and smiled as it was perfectly right. She avoided looking at him as a customer walked up to her register. Now her morning began.

~6 hours later~

Nanao huffed as she walked up to the dance studio. It was on the other side of town from her apartment, or anywhere else she was usually at, but it payed well. She pulled her bag off of her shoulder and ran into something very solid. "Kya!"

She expected to feel the hard floor, but instead felt her hand being held and another at her back holding her up. "That was dangerous." She kept her eyes mostly shut as she recognized the voice.

She didn't look at him as he pulled her back up into a standing position. "Thank you very much. I should look where I'm going-"

"Your late Nanao." She snapped her gaze up and looked at her partner. He wasn't really her partner, but he was paying for her to be his dance partner.

"Sorry Aizen. I got caught up at work." Nanao sighed as she pulled silk gloves onto her hands. Aizen hating it when she didn't where gloves.

"I don't pay you for excuses. Now get in here. I want to go over the routine with the music today." Aizen glared at her then the man beside her before walking into the private studio at the back.

"Thank you again." Nanao walked away without looking at Shunsui. She stopped when she felt her hand held by his again. Just like the previous night. She looked back at him, glad her hair had fallen across her face a bit.

"No problem." She blushed as he kissed her hand before releasing it.

She walked off down the hall, she just couldn't get a break today. Luckily she didn't have classes, then today would have been a nightmare. Or just too exhausting.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui watched the woman walk away. He recognized her, she had made him his coffee that morning. 'I wonder how often she makes it?' He was still trying to figure out who the mystery woman from the previous night was. 'She's a possibility, but who would have been her date?' He pulled out the glove from that night from his pocket. It was delicate and looked expensive, she was probably sad to have lost it.

"You okay there, Shunsui?" Shunsui looked toward the woman walking towards him. "It's not like you to be so glum while standing in my studio. Did someone refuse to dance with you?" Lisa mockingly frowned at him before bursting into laughter.

"I'm fine. Just a woman who seems to avoid me. Who was that lovely dear who just walked in?" Shunsui looked to see her now dressed in a skirt and heels as she walked into the room Aizen had walked into. Shunsui didn't trust the man.

"Aizen's partner? Nanao Ise, she is a hired partner. One of the best I have ever hired." Lisa smiled at Shunsui, it was rare for him to be so interested in one woman. "Who's the woman you're looking for? Nanao?"

"I don't know. Did she go to Byakuya's party last night?" Shunsui looked back at the glove in his hand. He noticed a knot at the wrist. 'Was this made by hand?'

"I don't know. I couldn't tell who anyone was with their masks on. Did you get the glove from the woman you're looking for?" Lisa managed to pluck the glove from his hand, it looked familiar to her. "It's off-white, so it's been worn a lot. And it looks hand made. Wow, that's dedication." Lisa was also surprised by its side, it was rather small. She handed the glove back to Shunsui. "Is that all you have to go on? A glove and that she is a good dancer?"

"She also had a small tattoo. A Sakura on the back of her right hand near her thumb." Shunsui pointed to the spot on his own hand.

"I think Nanao mentioned having a tattoo, but she didn't say where. I haven't seen one on her hand, but Aizen always has her wearing gloves. Although, I'm pretty sure she would have it elsewhere, she is in university after all." Lisa tried to remember of she ever saw such a mark on Nanao's hand.

"If you say she is that good of a dancer." Shunsui placed the glove back in his pocket, trying to get the mystery woman out of his mind. "Can I take her for a spin?" He chuckled as she nearly gave him a death glare. "Not in that way. I mean dancing." He had half expected her to misunderstand him, he knew he had a reputation as a womanizer and a flirt. And those were his more modest titles.

"Miss. Lisa." Shunsui and Lisa both looked towards the person looking at them, Aizen. "I'll be staying late. My routine needs more practise than I thought."

"Fine, but you're paying for Nanao's overtime fee." Lisa sighed thinking she would have to keep the studio lights on for a bit longer tonight.

"Don't worry. She'll get payed." Aizen walked back into the room he had come out of, he could feel a glare digging into his head.

Shunsui glared at Aizen until he was out of sight. He didn't know why, but he didn't trust him, at all. "Does he usual practice late?"

"No, this is the first day Nanao is able to. She didn't do overtime before, but she finally changed her application. She said she had a more open schedular this semester." Lisa was glad Nanao had opted for more hours, she was a good dancer. "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering when I could get her to dance with me." Shunsui smiled as he covered up his suspicion for Aizen.

"You really want to dance with her, don't you? Do you think she might be your mystery woman?" Lisa winked at Shunsui, she hadn't been able to tease him in a while. She was going to take advantage of it.

"I like dancing with people who can keep up." Shunsui knew what she was doing, and it was working. "Don't you have a studio to run?"

"It get boring just watching people dance. Want to give me a spin?" Lisa winked at Shunsui as she walked towards the stereo in the from room.

Shunsui smiled as he walked after her. Lisa was the best dancer he had come across, but she was passed last night. 'Soon. I will see if I have found her.'

~Nanao~

Nanao could barely stay on her feet. It was nearly 8, and Aizen still seemed to be going strong. She knew she could probably do the routine in her sleep, she probably would be doing it in her sleep. Normally she would have been home by now, her normal dance shift ended at 6, but she had said she could do overtime.

"Again." Nanao stood straight as Aizen walked towards her again. The music began and they were off. Nanao didn't even have to think of the steps, her legs knew them by memory. "I saw you at the party. Who was that you were dancing with? Didn't I tell you to wait for me?"

"Sorry. I didn't think you would take so long, or that he would have been such a good dancer. Few are." Nanao had suspected that was why he was working her so hard, because his date had danced with another man.

"That is no excuse." Nanao didn't expect him to press her against the wall, she hadn't even notice them get close to it.

"GET OFF-" Nanao was caught off guard as he pressed his lips to hers. She struggled against his arms, but she was too exhausted from the extensive practise he had been putting her through. She gasped for air when he was pulled off of her. She leaned against the wall to keep herself from falling to the floor.

"It's not nice to treat a woman so harshly." Nanao looked up towards her rescuer, it was Shunsui. Shunsui glared at Aizen. "Get out of here before I lose my temper." He growled at him, trying not to just beat the man senseless at that very moment. He continued to watch him as he left the room.

Nanao collapsed to the floor as she cried with relief, she had been terrified of what would have happened if Shunsui hadn't shown up. Aizen had tired her out deliberately, he wanted her to be unable to fight back.

She felt her tears being wiped away. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?" Nanao shook her head, not trusting her voice. "Nanao? Did he hurt you?"

She looked up as he said her name, she just cried more and hugged him. She didn't know why, but she just felt like she needed it, that had been her first kiss. And she had lost it to that monster she had trusted as her dance partner.

Shunsui wrapped his arms around the woman as she cried. She was shaking from the force of her tears. "It's okay. You're safe now." He held her as her breaths evened out and her sobs settled into deep breaths.

Nanao timidly pulled away from him. "Thank you, Shunsui." She moved to walk past him, but her caught her right hand again. She looked back into his face, his eyes widened with surprise.

Shunsui stared into her red rimmed violet eyes, was she that woman? He changed the grip on her hand and slid the silk glove off, it was white and new. He smiled as he saw the little pink flower on her hand. He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it. "Would you like to go out to dinner with me?"

Nanao was surprised by his request. "Wha...I...um...I...sorry. I have studying to do. I have a protest to take tomorrow." Nanao was still a bit disorientated, she hadn't expected the question.

"What are you studying?" Shunsui smiled as he held her hand and walked her towards the door to the room. He spotted her bag near the door and picked it up. "Maybe I can help." He held the door open as she walked out, still holding onto her hand.

Nanao blushed as she tried, and failed, to remove her hand from his grasp. She sighed as he tucked her arm around his, they were now walking arm in arm. "Architecture. It's architecture, and I do have a paper that is due in a few months that I need to do an interview for. And your office said you were booked for the next six months. Booked with dancing, perhaps?" Nanao raised an eyebrow in question a him.

Shunsui chuckled as he opened the door to the outside world. "Yeah, I told my secretary to say that to anyone that called. I'm going to have to be more specific with which calls to block. So where to, Nanao?"

Nanao was about to reply, but her stomach answered instead. She blushed after her stomach finally shut up. She laughed nervously. "Looks like not having a proper meal in a day, and extensive dancing, equates to my stomach embarrassing me." She wished she hadn't forgotten about lunch, she didn't realized she was that hungry.

Shunsui chuckled with her, she was cute when she was embarrassed. "The it looks like I'm taking you out to lunch." He lead her down the street to her car. He was looking forward to getting to know her better.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	13. Hello

I do not own Bleach.

Sorry if I sort of make their relationship kinda creepy, but it is true that Shunsui is much older than Nanao. But that doesn't make tham any less of a cute pairing.

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~Nanao~

"Tag! Nanao-chan's it!" Nanao turned as her friend touched her between her shoulder blades.

"I'm gonna catch you!" Nanao turned around and chased after her friends. She didn't stop when they ran into the crowded street of vendors and people. She easily made her way through the crowd. She got to an open step and pushed off. She got behind her friend in an instant. "Tag! You're it Soka-kun!" She ran away from him and into the denser crowd trying to get to the edge.

She looked behind her and smiled seeing as she had lost her friend. She turned and ran towards the side alley. She wanted out of the crowded street. She felt someone shove against her. "Kya!" She fell against something squishy, her nostrils filled with the smell of oranges.

"HEY! What do you think you're doing brat!? Look what you did to my fruit!" Nanao backed away from the yelling man. She held up her sticky hands trying to get him to stop talking, it didn't work. "Who's going to pay for this!? You certainly can't, you're just a street punk! I oughta beat some sense into you so this doesn't become a habit!"

"It was an accident!" Nanao yelled back. "Someone pushed me." She backed away as he walked towards her with a raised fist.

Nanao closed her eyes, expecting a hit, but it never came. She peaked open her eyes and saw that his arm was being held back by a single hand. She followed the hand to a figure in a black and white outfit with a pink kimono on his shoulders, he also had a sakkat on his head. She was amazed by his strength. The vendor looked to be about a foot taller than him and his arms nearly three times as large.

"Now, now. It's not nice to beat little girls. Especially when they have done nothing wrong." Nanao was surprised to hear him have such a deep voice, but it seemed to fit him. "Besides, it was my fault. I didn't see her behind me. I'll gladly pay for the fruit that was spoiled."

Nanao watched as the vendor backed away from the man. "It's alright, shinigami-san. They weren't selling anyway. Please don't worry about it." Nanao looked back at the pink clad man. He was a shinigami?

"Are you sure?" Nanao wondered why he wasn't just thanking him and walking away. Nanao saw that the vendor was just nodding his head, he was scared. "Thank you for understanding. Have a nice day." Nanao liked the smiled the shinigami had on his face, it was carefree and real. "Come along my dear, it's much to crowded around here. Don't you think?"

Nanao held his hand as he led her away from the vendor. She studied him as they walked. She finally got brave enough to ask once they had crossed the busy street. "Who are you? Why did you lie to that vendor for me?" She could tell he had lied, she had heard a woman yell at her after she had been pushed.

"As I told him, children shouldn't be punished for things they didn't do." Nanao found herself entranced by his gentle eyes. "And my name is Kyoraku Shunsui. I'm a Taichou for the Gotei 13."

"You're a shinigami Taichou!" Nanao was shocked, she was speaking with a Taichou. She had always dreamed of becoming a shinigami, but she didn't think she could pass the entrance test. "What squad?" She loved hearing about shinigami, since an old friend from her district had become one. He always told her stories about the famous Taichous and Fukutaichous.

"8th squad. Are you thinking of becoming a shinigami? I think you would do just fine getting into the academy. I saw you use shunpo while playing with your friends." Nanao looked at him with surprise. She had used what? "I'm guessing you didn't know. That's okay."

"There she is!" Nanao looked behind her and saw her friends waving at her.

"You should go. I'm sure your friends have been waiting for you." Nanao looked back towards Shunsui, she really wanted to join his squad, she liked him. "You should enrol in the academy." Nanao blushed as he tucked her hair out of her eyes with a flower clip, it was a pink lily.

Nanao smiled at him, she definitely liked him. "I will. Thank you, Kyoraku-Taichou!" She waved as she ran off towards her friends.

They were almost out of the city when she suddenly stopped and looked back. "Nanao-chan? Is something wrong?"

Nanao looked back at her friends as she caught up to them. "I never introduced myself to him. What if he doesn't remember who I am?"

"Who?" She looked beside her as she smiled remembering his smile.

"Kyoraku Shunsui, 8th squad Taichou of the Gotei 13." Nanao smiled as she spoke aloud. Her friends stopped, then bombarded her with questions. She laughed as she told them about her meeting with the Taichou.

~Shunsui~

Shunsui smiled as he watched the small child run off with her friends. He half wished he was her age and could go running off, instead of having to do paperwork. He sighed heavily as he resumed his walk through the town.

"Shunsui!" He stopped and looked behind him. A flash of white told him who it was, his long time friend, Ukitake Jushiro. "Would you stop running off on me!? First it was because you saw a hat you just had to buy, then you leave me with no explanation. What was it this time? A pair of earrings?!" Jushiro took a deep breath as he caught up to his friend.

"Not at all. I would never look good with earrings." Shunsui smiled at his friend. "I was just helping a little Hime-chan that was in distress."

"Oh really. And what was her name?" Jushiro couldn't believe his friend had run off on him, to help a woman. It actually fit his friend's reputation of a womanizer quite well.

Shunsui stared at his friend, he was stumped. "I never asked her that." Shunsui scratched his head. "Oh well. I'll be sure to ask her once she graduates. Maybe she'll even join my squad?"

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Jushiro rolled his eyes at his friend, he was being himself, but sometimes that was too much. "Let go back. I'm getting a headache."

"Okay, okay. Let's go." Shunsui followed Jushiro back towards Seireitei. It was understandable that he wouldn't believe him. Here were many instances where he wouldn't have believed himself either. 'I hope I can see her again.'

~centuries later~

Nanao walked through the crowded street of the 1st district. It amazed her how crowded the street could get. She squeaked past a few people as she tried to get to the less crowded edge of the street.

"What do you brats think your doing!? Who's going to pay for this!?" Nanao looked around till she found the source of the yelling. She adjusted her glasses as she approached the vendor.

She saw a small child standing and facing him. "It was an accident! I was pushed! I didn't mean to!" The child began to cry as he continued to plead with the man.

But the vendor wasn't listening. His face was red with rage as he held a stick to beat the small child crying in front of him. "This should teach you to be more careful!"

Nanao stepped between the child and the vendor. She held her hand up and easily stopped his arm. She smiled gently at him. "It's not nice to beat children that are innocent. They might grow up to be delinquents." Nanao let the man pull his arm away from her. She noticed how he took a step back as he noticed her uniform and badge. "I'll be glad to recompense you for whatever was damaged. I would hate for you to lose money on something so trivial." Nanao smiled at him again, she was liking being in the position of power.

"N...no. It's okay. He's just a kid after all. He didn't do much damage." Nanao smiled as she thanked the vendor.

She turned to the child and held her hand out to him. "Shall we take a walk?" She smiled gently at him as he took her hand.

They made it down most of the street, then a flurry of pink covered their path. "So you found him, Nanao-chan? I was wondering where the little ball of reiatsu was coming from." Shunsui smiled down at the child. "Hello there."

"H...hi." Nanao knelt down beside the child, he seemed a bit frightened.

"It's okay. We are shinigami. We were just hoping to find you and take you to the academy." Nano smiled as the child calmed down.

"You called, Kyoraku-Soutaichou?" Nanao and Shunsui turned as another shinigami showed up.

"Yep. Can you take this child to Shin'o Academy? If he wishes to go." Shunsui looked back at the boy.

The boy shouted excitedly. "Yes I want to go! I want to become a shinigami!" Nanao and Shunsui both smiled as his enthusiasm. They waved as the boy followed the shinigami.

"You really like helping children, don't you Taichou?" Nanao turned and walked back towards the majority of the shops on the street.

"Of course I do, my lovely Nanao-chan." Shunsui easily caught up to his Fukutaichou. "How did you find him in this crowd?"

"A vendor was yelling at him. He got pushed into his merchandise and broke a few of them. Honestly, some people need to confess to accidents more. Then there wouldn't be as many problems today." Nanao looked around at the shop. There were a few nice kimonos, but nothing that really caught her eye.

"Sounds like you know what you're talking about." Shunsui followed Nanao to the next shop. "There was this one girl I met a long time back. I found her the same way you found that boy. I wonder what happened to her."

Nanao stood still and hoped he was joking. "You sent a child off to the academy, and you haven't met her again? Don't you know her name?" She kept her voice steady through sheer willpower as she looked around the shop. A small hair piece caught her eye, it was a purple lily. "Don't you know how to find her?"

"I did give her a hair clip, but I haven't seen anyone wearing it. And I sadly didn't get her name." Shunsui watched as Nanao picked up and looked at a hair clip. He noticed her slightly shaking hands as she set the pin down. "Are you okay Nanao-chan?" He approached her cautiously, he wasn't sure if he had done anything wrong.

"It's much too crowded in here, don't you think?" Nanao turned and walked away from the store with looking at Shunsui. She was sure she was crying, but she didn't move to wipe them, she just kept walking.

Shunsui looked at her with surprise, was something wrong. He looked down at the clip, it looked familiar. He realized where he had seen it. This was were he had bought he clip he had given to that girl. He picked up the flower and noticed it was only loosely attached to the clip. His eyes widened with realization, he had seen a flower very similar in Nanao's barrack, only her's was pink.

Shunsui ran out of the shop and looked around for Nanao. He couldn't see her, so he reached out to try and find her reiatsu. He found it heading away from the town. He jumped onto a nearby roof and stepped into shunpo. He got out of the town in one step, and in front of Nanao in another.

He wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him. "I'm sorry Nanao-chan. I didn't mean to hurt you." He was beating himself up in his head for not realizing it sooner.

"I really should have expected it. I've worked under you for how long? And yet I still hoped you would remember how we first met." Nanao didn't try to free herself from his embrace. "I changed quite a bit at the academy. I let my hair grow long and I started wearing glasses. They didn't serve any purpose other than keeping my reiryoku in check. They still only serve that purpose."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" Shunsui pulled away slightly so he could look at her face. He had to tilt her head up so he could. He smiled as he saw her eyes light up with surprise when he removed her glasses. "Why did you not tell me who you were when you joined 8th?"

Nanao blushed as she watched him smile at her, his smile was still so carefree and real like when she had first seen it. She looked away remembering what happened to the clip. "I didn't want you asking about that clip. It broke while I was playing with my friends during one of the breaks. I had worn it everyday in my first year. I didn't want you to think I didn't cherish it."

Shunsui couldn't help but chuckle at her response. "How could I possibly think that? I see that little flower every time I visit your barrack. Mind you it took till now to figure out what it was, but you clearly have cherished it." He tilted her face back towards his. "I really did regret not asking for your name back then."

"I hadn't realized I hadn't introduced myself until I was already out of the town." Nanao looked back at the town. "It was probably around here were I realized it, and I made a very important decision."

"And what decision was that, my lovely Nanao-chan?" Shunsui kept his eyes in her as she looked back at him with a smile.

"I chose to join 8th when I graduated. And that I would one day be your Fukutaichou, and follow you everywhere." Nanao smiled and blushed as she remembered her childish goal. She laughed realizing she had done exactly what she had decided to do.

"Anything else you decided?" Shunsui smiled at how cute she looked with blush on her cheeks.

"That I would one day do the craziest thing in my life." Nanao blushed harder remembering what she had told her friends she would do. She had hoped to completely forget it, but she still hoped it would happen.

"And what would this crazy thing be?" Shunsui raised an eyebrow, Nanao wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"This." Nanao stepped up onto her toes and placd a kiss on Shunsui's cheek. She was glad it had stunned him, because then she was able to get out of his embrace. But she soon found herself in it once again.

"My Nanao-chan gave me a kiss!" Shunsui couldn't believe what had just happened. He spun Nanao around with him as he smiled and laughed. "What exactly was the crazy thing? Certainly it wasn't just giving me a kiss on the cheek, was it?"

Nanao blushed and steadied herself against Shunsui's chest. She hadn't expected him to be that happy. "No, that was just the first part. Please no more spinning. I don't do well with spinning." She felt like she was going to be sick.

"Sorry Nanao-chan." Shunsui wrapped his arms around Nanao and used a kido to help her with her motion sickness. "What was the next part?"

Nanao blushed as she felt his familiar reiatsu run through hers as it took away her nauseous feeling. "It was either asking you out, or getting you to ask me out." Nanao blushed as she softly spoke, knowing Shunsui would hear her no matter how softly she spoke.

"I've been asking Nanao-chan to go to dinner with me for years, but she has never once accepted." Shunsui frowned wondering why that was.

"That's was because you didn't know who I was. So I couldn't even begin to try and earn your love." Nanao clamped her mouth shut, she couldn't believe she had said that.

"Nanao-chan always has my love. She doesn't need to earn it." Shunsui smiled more after hearing she did want him. "What came after getting asked out by me?"

Nano tried to pull away from him, but she found herself stuck. She sighed realizing she wasn't getting away. "A kiss...on the lips...after a romantic evening." She blushed thinking of what her childish mind had envisions. Roses, dinner under the moonlight, a moonlit walk through a blooming garden, and a kiss goodnight.

"That can be arranged." Shunsui smiled thinking of a perfect romantic evening he could plan. Thousands of ideas were running through his head. "When would you like to have said romantic date?"

"No kiss on the first date! I have standards. Even if it's with the man I love." Nanao clamped her hands over her mouth. She had said it, she had said what she had sworn not to say until after she knew she loved him and it wasn't just a childhood crush.

Shunsui looked at her with surprise. "Nanao-chan...loves me?" He was hugging her again with a large grin on his face. "Nanao-chan loves me!"

"Tai...Taichou! Let...go. Taichou? Kyoraku-Taichou?" Nanao tried to glare at him, but his eyes were shut tight and he was grinning like a child. She could help but smile at his happy face. "It's like I just gave you the best present of your life Shunsui?" Nano soon found herself staring into his chocolate brown eyes, she was melting into them.

"Say it again, please." Shunsui had a hand on her chin as he looked into her violet eyes. They were so unique, and so beautiful.

"Say what? That I love you? Or do you want me to call you 'Shunsui' again?" Nanao smiled at him. Had she found leverage over him?

"Both together would also be nice." Shunsui knew she was teasing him, but he let her, he liked it.

"I love you, Shunsui." Nanao smiled at him as she brought a hand up and placed it on his fuzzy cheek.

She found her lips pressed against his as his hands pulled her close to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck in response.

They broke the kiss after several minutes. Both were panting as they held each other close.

"I love you too, Nanao." Shunsui smiled as he hugged Nanao tightly. He wasn't letting her go anytime soon.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	14. One Last Time(AU)

I do not own Bleach.

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~Shunsui~

Shunsui walked up the steps to his house. He looked around before he unlocked the door. The phone call from work still playing in his head. "Tonight she is mine again...and she'll watch you die." Shunsui couldn't stand the voice, melodic and sweet, it was sickening.

He took of his shoes as he turned and locked the door. "Nanao! I'm home!" He picked up his briefcase and walked towards the dinning room. He couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as Nanao walked over to greet him.

"How was your day at the office?" Nanao smiled at her fiancée, she was happy he was finally home. He had been staying late recently, and going in early.

Shunsui tried not to think of work, him working at an office was just a lie. He was working undercover, because one of the biggest crime lords in the city, was targeting Nanao. "I'll kill you in the worst way, detective." Shunsui continued the message that was on his office phone. He looked away from Nanao, it hurt to know what he had to do.

"Shunsui? What's wrong?" Nanao didn't know what was going on, Shunsui had never been like this.

"I think you should leave." Shunsui walked away from her, he could look at her.

"What? Why? What's wrong? If you tell me I'm sure we can work it out?" Nanao didn't want it to end, their happiness to end.

"You don't need to know, just leave." Shunsui noticed something off, the floor was squeaking. Someone else was in the house with them.

"Yes I do! You expect me to just accept that it's over with no explanation!?" Nanao was furious, he was giving up. And he wouldn't even give her a reason why. "What is your problem?! Why don't you want my help?!

"Because I don't need it!" Shunsui turned towards her with a stern look, he needed to get her out of the house. "And I do have a problem! It's you!" He could barely stand the hurt look that spread across her face. "I was a free man before I met you. I could go out when ever I wanted and drink however much I wanted. Now I have to be home for dinner and only a bottle of sake a day. Plus I can't find anything in his house anymore!"

"If you can't find anything, then ask! And if you want to kill your self by over drinking, then feel free! I'M DONE!" Nanao yelled at him before running to the door, slipping on her shoes, and slamming the door closed behind her.

Shunsui sat down at the dinning room table. He put his head in his hands as tears ran down his cheeks. He still had Nanao's hurt face in his mind. It hurt him more than any wounds he had gotten on the job. 'Please keep her safe, Jushiro.'

He kept hi back to the pantry as he heard clapping coming towards him. "That was a spectacular show. Doesn't go with my plan, but at least I can get you out of the way. Now I can pursue her to my hearts content." Shunsui hated the sound of the man's voice, of Sosuke Aizen's voice. "It really is a pity. She never knew who you really were, did she? And she never will." Aizen pulled a knife out of his pocket as he walked towards the cop that had been trying to catch him for years.

"No one else to help you? Usually you got your underlings to try and take care of me. Starrk very nearly did, too bad he wasn't good enough to take me on." Shunsui sat with his hands in his lap. He ran his plan through his mind, he needed to execute it perfectly, or else he was dead.

"I don't need anyone else, to take care of you." Aizen brought his knife down towards Shunsui's heart. His hands were caught and he missed his mark. He tried to pull away, but his hands were locked in place.

Shunsui breathed through the pain as he pulled up the gun from beneath the table. He held it up to Aizen's face. "I think you do." Shunsui pulled the trigger, blood splatter the side of his face as he felt a body fall to the floor beside him. He cringed at the wound in his chest, he was going to need stitches.

"Now look what ya did. Ya went and kill ma boss."Shunsui looked towards the silver haired man walking into the room, Gin Ichimaru, Aizen's right hand man. "Now how am I suppose ta get payed? Oh well. Might as well finish the job." Shunsui lifted his gun as gin did the same.

~Nanao~

Nanao had stopped walking when she had heard the first bang. She was waiting to hear another sound.

*BANG*

She started running. She knew the sound all too well, gun shots. She had grown up near a shooting range, and her father had been a cop. She knew what gun shots sounded like, and what was found at the scene of a gun fight. She called 911 as she neared the house, but she stopped dialling once she noticed police cars already there.

"Nanao!" She stopped in her tracks as she watched someone run towards her from the group of police officers. His white hair gave him away, Jushiro Ukitake, Shunsui's best friend. "Thank goodness you're alright. We were worried you had been taken, or worse." Jushiro was glad to see she was alright.

"What happened? What's going on? Where's Shunsui?" Nanao didn't know Jushiro was a cop. Shunsui had told her that they worked together. Did Shunsui lie to her?

"Nanao I need you to remain calm. And know that Shunsui loved you, he really did." Jushiro tried to calm her down before explaining everything. "Shunsui was working undercover. He was trying to get Sosuke to slip up so he could catch him. And you were the link. Sosuke was obsessed with you."

Nanao wondered where she had heard the name Sosuke before. Then she remembered the stalker she had filed a restraining order against, his name had been Sosuke Aizen. "So Shunsui got close to me, to get Sosuke?" It hurt Nanao a bit to know she was just a tool, but she couldn't help but smile, Shunsui had been protecting her. She broke down into tears as their fight played through her head. "He broke off our engagement, and just to get me out of the house? That idiot."

Jushiro pulled her into a hug as she continued to cry. 'Idiot. Why would you go that far if there was a chance you weren't going to die?' He noticed the stretchers being rolled it of the house. "Come on. You need rest." He led her to his car while keeping the body bags out of her sight.

He drove her to the nearest hotel and booked her into a room under his name. He led her up to the room and stood in the door way. He reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled out the box Shunsui had left on his desk. "This is for you. Shunsui told me to give it to you...if something happened to him." He held out the box for Nanao to take.

Nanao gently took the box in her hand, it didn't feel that heavy. She could feel tears begin to run down her face again. "Thank you, Jushiro." Nanao held the box as she began to cry again.

"Get some sleep. It will help." Jushiro placed a room key on the table beside the door before leaving. He had lots of paperwork to fill out.

Nanao sat down on the bed as she ran a hand over the scribbled text on it. 'Please give to Nanao. She needs to know.' She could recognize Shunsui's handwriting anywhere. She had read enough of his poems, short stories and novels he had kept in his study to know how he writes.

She slowly opened the box. In it was a book. She picked it up and examined the cover, she had never seen it before. Two pieces of paper fell onto her lap. One was folded, the other was a picture. She picked them up and stared at the picture. It was her graduation class in high school, and Shunsui and Jushiro were in the picture. They had been in her high school graduating class? How did she not know them? There were only about 50 people that graduated.

She opened the letter after she put the picture aside.

"Dear Nanao,

I'm sorry. For everything. For lying to you, and everything else. I don't want to hurt you, ever. But I know I probably will. I don't think things through like that.

But if this is the end, then know that I love you. I love you with all of my heart. And I wish I could have done better. Better for you, you deserve it.

You're father was the man that inspired me to become a cop. He stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life, and he payed the price for it. I've been trying to make up for it, but I don't think I can.

I'm sorry, Nanao. Please forgive me. I know I don't deserve it, but I'm asking for it.

I love you. Be safe.  
Your darling Shunsui"

Nanao held the letter with shaking hands. She put it aside gently before breaking shown into tears again. She clutched the book to her chest as she fell over onto the pillow. She let her tears soak into it, and her sobs turn to hiccups, before opening the book.

'Broken Love' was the title written at the top of the page. She flipped to the next page and began reading, reading the story that followed their life.

~a year later~

Nanao sat on the edge of a fountain. She watched as people walked by with a book in their hands. Everyone was reading the latest release. The author hadn't released a book in several years, and this was his best book yet. Nanao pulled out her own copy of the book and smiled at the name across the bottom, 'Shunsui Kyoraku'.

"So this is what was in the box? I didn't think he would have left you a book." Nanao looked up to see Jushiro walking towards her. Jushiro smiled sadly at her as he sat down. "You have a nice few of the book store from here. Any reason why?"

"I like seeing how popular it is. I heard all of the proceeds are going to help maintain the police department. As well as hire more people." Nanao smiled as she read the author biography on the back cover of the book. It was a good picture of Shunsui.

"Yeah, the Ise fund." Jushiro smiled at the name, it was named after Nanao's father. "How are you doing? I haven't heard from you in a while."

"I'm doing fine." Nanao took a deep breath to steady herself. She noticed the crowd ops round the book store getting thicker.

"Anything I can do for you?" Jushiro watched the crowd begin to form a line as a figure sat down at a table with a pile of books beside it. An author was signing books.

"No, not unless you can get him to remember." Nanao felt tears sting her eyes as she watched the author sign books. Even from the distance she was at, she could make out his curly brown hair, pulled back into a low ponytail, and his lips in a sweet lazy smile as he flirted with the woman in line.

~4 months ago~

Nanao rushed down the hall as fast as she could without running. She had been waiting for 8 months to hear news about Shunsui. And today she had been told that he was awake, and that so far there was no loss of memories.

She rounded the corner and saw him through the window to his room. He was sitting up and talking with Jushiro. He had a smile on his face and was laughing. He looked healthy, unlike a few weeks ago when he seemed like a lifeless doll.

She slowly walked to the door with the book Shunsui had given her in her hands. She had read it over a dozen times. She had edited the end a bit, it didn't quite fit the story, but she knew he wouldn't mind. He trusted her editing skills. She knocked on the door to get their attention.

She lost her breath as their eyes met. She smiled at him nervously, she felt like she was meeting him for the first time again. "Hello there. Are you looking for someone?"

The smile nearly fell off of her face, he didn't know her? She caught sight of Jushiro's surprise look. "No, I already found who I was looking for. I was just told to give this to you. You're a very good writer, Mr. Kyoraku." Nanao kept her face free of sadness as she walked towards him and handed him the book. "Your editor said it should be good for publishing, but still said you should go over it."

"Thank...you. I haven't published a story in years." Nanao watched as he flipped through the book. "It's my writing, but I don't remember writing it. Thank you...um. I'm sorry. I don't believe we have met before."

"No, not formally. I'm Nanao Ise. I love your books, I have them all in hardcover on my shelf back home." Nanao smiled as she tried to keep the tears from showing in her eyes.

"Ise? As in...Kirito Ise?" Nanao smiled as he spoke her father's name. "He was a great inspiration to me."

"He was my father. I'm glad he helped you. He always liked helping people." Nanao turned and walked towards the door. "Please feel better soon. I want to get my other books signed when your new one gets published." She waved as she walked out of the room and down the hall. Only once she had turned the corner, and could no longer be seen from his room, did she break down. She held herself together as she cried.

She pulled the photo of her graduating class out of her pocket. She looked at Shunsui and Jushiro with their arms around each other during the photo. But Shunsui's eyes weren't on the camera. They were on a girl a few rows in front of him. He was looking at her. She held the picture against her chest as she slid down the wall to the floor. Her heart was breaking,but no doctor could fix it.

~flashback end~

Nanao wiped the tears from her eyes as she stood and placed the book in her hand back into her purse. "Thank you for looking after him. Jushiro."

"Who would if I didn't? He doesn't exactly put himself first." Jushiro stood up and gave Nanao a hug, she felt like a little sister to him. "You sure you'll be alright?"

"I'm sure. I've survived this long, haven't I?" Nano gave him a smile before walking off towards the cafe beside the bookstore. She ordered a coffee and walked onto wards the bookstore once she had added cream and sugar to her taste, but she never got a chance to fully enjoy it. She ran right into someone as soon as she put a lid on it. "I am so sorry."

"It's okay. It's just scalding hot coffee." Nanao looked up hesitantly, she knew the voice very well. "Oh. It's you, Nanao. How have you been?"

"Fine, just fine. That is, when I'm not spilling hot coffee onto people." Nanao turned behind her and grabbed a handful, of napkins. "How are you doing? Other than right now."

"I've been pretty good. Thank you, for bringing me that book. My publicist seemed to know all about it. And it helped me remember a few things." Shunsui took a few of the napkins and tried to dry his shirt a bit, it wasn't helping much.

"That's good. It's always troublesome to forget things." Nanao couldn't help but feel embarrassed. She had spilled her coffee all over his clothes, and now was having a normal chat with him. She could feel fangirls glaring daggers into her back. "I'm so sorry."

"It alright, Nanao. I wasn't paying attention to were I was going. But I'm glad I ran into you." Shunsui gave her a smile. He thought she looked beautiful, especially with the light dusting of blush on her cheeks. "Why don't I buy you another coffee?"

"You don't have to." Nanao was starting to feel uncomfortable under the glares of all the women in the shop. "I need to get going anyway. I have work to get done."

Shunsui followed her it of the shop. "Then how about dinner? I should thank the person who saved me from getting yelled at by my devil of a publicist."

Nanao smiled gently at him. "Are you asking me on a date? Or are you just saying thank you?" She was rather hopeful it was a date, she really missed seeing him everyday.

"Would you like it to be a date?" Shunsui couldn't believe his luck, she asked if it was a date. He couldn't contain the grin that spread across his face. "I'll pick you up at seven. But I'll need your address."

Nanao smiled at him. "No you don't. I live two doors down from you. The house with the bright pink car in the driveway, is mine. I'll see you at seven."

~that evening~

Nanao rushed around her house getting ready. It was nearly 7. She walked into her kitchen and put good into her dog's food dish. "Stralitzia! Hachibantai! Dinner!" She scratched her little white and black puppies as they ran into the kitchen. "The names Shunsui gave you two. Unbelievable." Shunsui had gotten them for her their last Christmas together. She loved them both and they loved her.

They were both pure read Akitas, but she had trained them to not be very aggressive to dogs. The pure white one was Stralitzia, her little girl. And the pure black one was Hachibantai. Nanao didn't know where or how Shunsui had come up with his name, but he seemed to like it. And they both absolutely loved the colour pink.

"How to tell who picked you two out? It rather obvious once a bit of pink is shown." Nanao cuddled them both as they ate their food happily. Once they were done they snuggled up against her. She was wearing a red dress, the closest thing to pink she could wear without having the two cling to her.

*DING DONG*

All three looked towards the door, then at each other. "Stay. I'll bring him here." Nanao held her hand out and waited till they were both sitting before heading towards the door.

She opened it and wasn't surprised to see him with a bouquet of roses and a pink shirt on. "Roses for the beautiful lady." Shunsui smiled at her, she looked stunning in her red dress.

"Why thank you. You may regret wearing that colour." Nanao let him in as she half giggled. He didn't know what was coming.

"What? Pink?" Shunsui didn't know what she was talking about, but he guessed he was about to find out. He heard the sound of something scraping against tiles. He turned towards the door and saw the average sized puppies run towards him.

Nanao held the roses as both dogs jumped up onto Shunsui. The three fell down and laid on the carpet. Shunsui was laughed while the puppies rolled around on top of his and kissed his face. They seemed to remember who he was. "They like pink, a lot."

"I can see that. I think I had two dogs at one point, but Jushiro doesn't seem to remember me ever having pets." Shunsui cuddled the two dogs, they were so familiar to him.

"What were their names?" Nanao placed the roses on the counter as she knelt down beside him. Hachibantai was on her lap instantly, he was her baby boy.

"One had the name Stralitzia, it's the scientific name for the birds of paradise flower. And the other...was Hachibantai." Shunsui smiled as he picked up the white puppy. She seemed to like him.

"Why Hachibantai? That sounds like a strange name." Nanao was shocked he had said the exact name of her dogs. He didn't seem to notice their reactions to saying their names.

"Because at work I'm part of 8th squad. And it seemed like a good name when I was picking them out." Shunsui smiled as the puppy kissed his nose. He caught sight of her collar and tag. It was a pink collar with heart going around it and a heart tag with her name engraved on it. 'Stralitzia'

Nanao let Hachibantai run over to Shunsui. She smiled as he turned to the other little dog and read his tag as well. She met his eyes with a sad smile. "They've missed you. You never did tell Jushiro. You were worried he would tell you that you weren't responsible enough to have a pet, let alone two puppies." Nanao could feel tears running down her cheeks. She knew he didn't remember her, but it hurt that he remembered the dogs.

"I'm still forgetting something, aren't I?" Shunsui put down Stralitzia and wiped Nanao's tears away with his thumb. Images flashed through his head. He was wiping away tears as Nanao smiled at him. He slid a ring with a pink rose shaped jewel onto her left hand. She smiled at him again. "Nanao. I'm sorry. Forgetting really is troublesome. It hurts those we love the most."

Nano looked at him with surprise. Did he remember?

"And if I'm not mistaken." Shunsui took her right hand and slid the engagement ring he had given her off. "This belongs on your other hand."

Nanao threw her arms around him and knock him over. She was crying and laughing as the dogs jumped onto them. "You remember, you really remember?"

"Yes Nanao. I'm sorry for hurting you. I just couldn't think of another way to get you out of that house." Shunsui held her close. He had missed the feel of her in his arms, even if he didn't know he was missing it. "I'm so sorry."

"The coffee was payback. Let's leave it at that." Nanao breathed in the scent of him, grass, paper and sake. The sake was just tolerable, but she would take it anyway it came. It was Shunsui, and she loved every part of him. "Just don't leave me like that again."

Shunsui rolled over so that Nanao was laying on the carpet and he could look into her eyes. "I promise, I will never leave you again." He leaned down and gently kissed her. "I love you, Nanao."

Nanao smiled as she pulled him down close to her again. "I love you too, Shunsui." She whispered against his lips before kissing him again. She cried, but not out of sadness, it was out of pure joy. She had her Shunsui back.

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Please leave a comment or a question.


	15. Pink Day

I do not own Bleach.

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Sorry for the lateness of it. I meant to post this on Valentine's Day. But my computer was being stupid. Enjoy.

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Nanao checked herself in the mirror one last time. She didn't know why she was nervous. She was just going to the festival with her Taichou. He probably didn't even know what the festival was about. He had been really busy that week with paperwork and repairs to Seireitei. The Quincy War had been hard, and destructive. She fixed her obi to get her mind off of the memories.

A knock at her door and the familiar reiatsu also helped to draw her attention. She slid her door open after siding her shoes on. "Good evening, Kyoraku-Taichou." She gave him a professional smile, just like she always did.

"Evening Nanao-chan. There's no need to be so formal. Look, I'm even out of uniform." Shunsui smiled brightly at Nanao. It was rare to see her out of her uniform, and even more rare to see her go to the festival, especially with him.

Nanao rolled her eyes, she hadn't expected him to be in uniform. Even though he was Soutaichou, she really didn't expect him to change that much. "I fail to see how forest green goes with pink, Sir." Nanao was surprised that he still had his obnoxious pink kimono on over his yukata.

"Pink goes with everything, my lovely Nanao-chan. And Nanao-chan looks very lovely tonight." Shunsui liked the yukata that Nanao had chosen. It was red with Sakura flowers and hearts covering the bottom, she looked cute. "Shall we go?" He held his arm out for Nanao to take.

Nanao sighed as she held her bag in front of her and walked past him. "It's probably already started."

Shunsui followed after her and moved to place a hand on her shoulder. He was swatted away by her fan. "That hurt Nanao-chan." He gave her a saddened look.

Nanao knew he was faking, he usually was. "No inappropriate behaviour, Taichou." She continued to walk, but she wished he would have tried again. The air seemed so tense when he didn't.

"But it's very appropriate to be inappropriate right now. I'm with my cute Nanao-chan and she isn't in uniform." Shunsui ducked under Nanao's bag, but missed her fan as it tapped his forehead. "My cute Nanao-chan is getting sneaky."

"I'm not your anything, Taichou." Nanao continued walking with a small smile on her lips.

"Nanao-chan just hasn't fallen for me yet." Shunsui easily caught up to her. She wasn't walking all that fast to begin with.

'Oh how wrong you are.' Nanao kept her face neutral. She had been trying to avoid this topic for a while now. She didn't want to tell him, she had already fallen for him. "Let's hurry. We don't want to miss the lantern lighting."

"Is that new this year?" Shunsui wasn't completely sure what the festival was about. Nanao had invited him to go with her yesterday, but didn't say what the festival was about.

They walk in relative silence to the festival. When they arrived, the streets were crowded and lit with red, pink, white, and purple lanterns.

"Looks like we missed the lantern lighting." Nanao was a bit relieved. She half didn't want Shunsui to know what type of festival she had invited him to.

"Sorry Nanao-chan. Let's enjoy the rest of the festival." Shunsui could see that Nanao was a bit upset, but she seemed to be trying to hide it. "Let's see what is over-"

"Kyoraku-kun!" Shunsui and Nanao looked over towards one of the tents that was nearby. There was a pair of girls dressed in bright red dresses. "Do you want to be our first costumer? We just opened."

Shunsui recognized the girls, but he didn't want to move. He could feel a spark in the air. He looked sideways at Nanao, she didn't look pleased. He went to decline, but Nanao beat him.

"Go have fun, Kyoraku-Soutaichou. I need to make sure the festival is progressing smoothly anyways." Nanao walked away without looking at Shunsui or the girls. She was going to yell at Rangiku for hiring geishas.

Nanao walked towards the back of the festival. The SWA set up the festival. And Nanao was told she didn't have to worry about anything. Her only job was to get Shunsui out of his depressing attitude. But now she just wanted a distraction from Shunsui.

"YOU CALL THIS A PRIZE!" Nanao looked over towards one of the booths. She noticed a few man yelling at the girl at the booth. She guessed they were from 11th squad. "What the hell am I suppose to do with a stupid flower?!"

"S...s...sorry, b...b...b...but th...that's the prize." Nanao approached the booth as the girl backed away fm the rude men, she was trembling terribly.

"Is there a problem here?" Nanao spoke calmly as she let a bit of her reiatsu crackle across her hair clips. They jingled softly from the sparks.

"This doesn't-" Nanao smiled as he realized who she was.

"Please reframe from causing problems. Otherwise I will have to report you to Kusajishi-Fukutaichou." Nanao knew all the members of 11th were scared of their Fukutaichou. She was weary of the pink haired girl as well, but knew she wasn't bad when she was happy. "Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" Nanao watched them as they ran away into the crowd of festival goers.

"Thank you, Ise-Fukutaichou." Nanao turned to the girl, it was Kiyone. "Sentaro left me alone saying he was going to check on the Taichou, but he hasn't come back yet." Kiyone gripped her fist as she thought of what she would do to her fellow third seat when he got back.

"You both should relax more. This is a festival." Both woman looked at the blond woman walking towards them. Matsumoto Rangiku wore a pink and purple kimono with her hair loose and free as it usually was. "Where's Shunsui-kun, Nanao-chan?"

"He's with the geishas you hired. Why did you hire them?" Nanao tried not to glare, but she was already a bit irritated.

*crack*

Nanao growled as she pulled her glasses off of her face. They didn't help her see, they helped to restrict her reiatsu. It tended to spark when she got irritated, they helped to stop it from causing damage. "Great. Now I have to get another pair from 12th." Nanao growled again as she replaced the cracked glasses on her face.

*CRACK*

Nanao sighed and took several deep breaths to calm herself. She removed the useless lenses from her face. They fell to pieces in her hand.

"Nanao-chan is really stressed today." Rangiku smiled weakly at her friend. She had put in the mat effort for the festival, despite being told not to. "I think I know how to relax you."

Nanao looked questioningly at her friend. She followed her as she dragged her towards the SWA tent.

~with Shunsui~

Shunsui sighed as he emptied his third bottle of sake. "Why did Nanao-chan have to leave?"

"Maybe she was embarrassed to ask you not to come?" Shunsui kept his eyes on the ground, he wasn't in the mood to flirt. "Or maybe she was upset. You did look like you were trying to find an excuse to come."

He sighed again as he laid back. "How can I make it up to her?"

"Go find her." He looked towards the girl sitting across from him. "This is a love festival after all. What other type of festival is meant for valentine's day."

"Love...festival?" Shunsui had a look of surprise on his face. "Nanao-chan invited me to a love festival...on valentine's day?"

"She even invited you!? Why are you still here!? Go find her!" Shunsui was surprised by the anger that seemed to be on the woman's face. He didn't stick around to see what would happen afterwards.

"Wonder where she went?" Shunsui looked around, but he couldn't spot Nanao in the crowd. He also had trouble finding her reiatsu signature. "Maybe I should find her something? As an apology."

Shunsui began looking around the shops. He still scanned around for Nanao, but also for something she might like. His eyes were instantly drawn to a self of books. He walked over and found it to be filled with old romance novels.

"Looking for yourself or for someone else?" Shunsui looked towards the old lady sitting in the corner of the booth.

"Looking for someone special." Shunsui smiled at her as he scanned titles.

"Any there that she doesn't have?" The old lady smiled at Shunsui, he wasn't the first to look through them. Although it was mostly girls. "Do you have an idea of what she would like?"

"Not really. But she does love reading. She doesn't really have a preference, as long as it has a good story line, she will read it." Shunsui smiled remembering the shelves of books she has back at her quarters.

"Then I have one she might enjoy." Shunsui watched as she walked towards him and pulled a fairly thick book from the shelf. "This one is fairly good. I have a copy for myself back home. I find the story is different every time I restart it."

Shunsui smiled at her. "Sounds perfect."

He payed for the book and waved as he left. "Now to find Nanao-chan."

~SWA tent~

"Is this really necessary? I was already wearing a fairly nice yukata. Why do I have to wear this now?" Nanao looked at herself in the mirror. She wore a midnight blue kimono with a bright pink obi. "How does the pink go with this?"

"Pink goes with everything." Rangiku winked at Nanao. She had decided to dress Nanao up more, since the girl needed to get out some frustration. She had already shattered her hair piece. "Now you look irresistible. Shunsui-kun won't be able to keep his hands off of you."

"How says I want his hands on me in the first place!?" Nanao tucked her hair behind her ear, but it just fell out. She sighed as she pulled it out and left it. "When do the fireworks go off?"

"They should have already started." Rangiku checked outside the tent, nothing. "Maybe they are having difficulties."

"I'll go check. If they are having troubles, I can help until they can get it working again." Nanao sighed as she walked out of the tent and towards the firework station.

She kept her eyes down as she tried to walk in on even ground. It was rather difficult since the ground had only been repaired quickly after the last war. They hadn't smoothed it out yet.

She didn't notice the person walking towards her. She did when she walked into him. She nearly fell backwards, but he caught her. "My lovely Nanao-chan needs to look where she is going. Good thing her Shunsui was keeping an eye out for her."

"I'm not your anything, Taichou." Nanao tucked her hair back, but untucked it once she felt it slipping out. "Why are you here?"

"Because I was looking for my Nanao-chan. She left me alone. And to go and change into a beautiful kimono. She even has a pink obi on with it." Shunsui smiled as she stepped away from him. "Nanao-chan looks very beautiful."

"Only because Rangiku-san dressed me up. Now if you will excuse me. I have work to do." Nanao tried to walk away, but found him to be following her. "Shouldn't you be enjoying the festival?"

"But I would have to walk around alone. And being alone at a love festival is lonely. And I would hate for my Nanao-chan to be lonely. Especially when she invited me." Shunsui smiled as he snaked an arm around her waist. He pulled it back after she slapped him with her fan. "Nanao-chan still has her fan on her." He moved his hand to her back.

Nanao smiled at his persistence. She left his hand where it was and continued walking. "I would be just fine. As long as I can find out why the fireworks aren't working."

They rounded the corner and found members of 12th squad rushing around trying to get the fireworks started. "Imbeciles! You can't even get a simple fireworks system going! Nemu! What is the problem?!" Nanao watched as Kurotsuchi-Taichou yelled at the shinigami running around. "What do you two want? Who is this? Did you finally get rid of that other woman?"

"It's so nice to hear what you think of me, Kurotsuchi-Taichou." Nanao suppressed her reiatsu. She did not need to send a spark off at a Taichou. And especially not this Taichou. "I came to see what the problem was. The fireworks where suppose to start 10 minutes ago." Nanao made her way to the control panel. "What seems to be the problem?"

"We aren't getting any power to the control panel. We are trying to find where the power leak is coming from." Nanao looked towards Nemu. She was checking to see which wires were live or not.

"Power to the control panel? Do you have a peg board the has all of the wire connected to the fireworks?" Nanao got an idea.

"One can be made. Why?" Kurotsuchi looked at the girl standing infront of the control panel.

"Because I can set them off." Nanao held up her hand and let her reiatsu spark between her fingers. "Quite easily."

"Nemu." Mayuri looked toward his Fukutaichou. She had already begun constructing a board.

Nanoa smiled as the wires where wrapped around the metal pegs. "Nemu-san, can you count it out for me?"

"Sure." Nanao charged up her hands as Nemu picked up the clip board and stop watch. "First peg...in three...two...one...go." Nanao taped the first peg. The fireworks were off. "Pegs two, three, four and five...in three...two...one...go." Nanao tapped the four simultaneously. "Pegs six, seven and eight...in three...two...one...go... ...pegs nine and ten...in three...two...one...go... Final peg...in three...two...one...go."

Nanao froze. The last one didn't go off. "Is that the finale peg?" She looked towards Nemu, she nodded at her. "And it's all wired up."

"All except this one." Nemu held up a fairly large bucket that had a heart drawn on it. "This is the final one. We didn't get it wired up in time."

Nanao sweat dropped at the girl. She noticed the fireworks starting to die down. She sighed as she walked around the control panel. "I'll be right back."

"Where is my lovely Nanao-chan going?" Shunsui held her arm as she began walking towards the active fireworks.

"I just need to take out a bit of frustration." Nanao pealed Shunsui's hand off of her arm and continued walking. She avoided the fireworks that where still going off. 'At least the sequence is long.'

She found the finale by following the wires that Nemu was lifting up for her. The girl was being very helpful. She stood in the midst of them and waited for Nemu to count her in. She spotted the finale firework bucket on the control panel. "Looks like I will have to make that one myself."

Nanao spread her hands wide and began a spark between them. She counted in with Nemu. 'Three...two...one...go.' She let the sparks loose as the fireworks shot out around her. 'Alright. Time to make the finale.'

Nanao began charging up a ball in her hands. She shaped it and changed its colour till she thought it was perfect. She continued to power it up as Nemu counted her down. 'Three...two...one...go!' She shot up the blazing bright pink spark.

Shunsui watched as the large pink ball shot up into the sky. It exploded into a pink heart, then morphed into a red heart, and finally split into a pair of red hearts. 'Wow. Wonder how long she has been able to do that?'

His eyes were drawn back to the woman walking out of the firework field. She had a smile on her face and was completely soot free. He wondered how she had managed that.

"Thank you for you help, Ise-san." Nemu bowed towards Nanao.

Nanao waved her hand at the girl. "No problem. I'm glad I could help."

"Tch. What a waste of my time. Come Nemu. We have better work to do." Nanao and Shunsui sighed as the scientist walked back towards his division.

"Nanao-chan seemed to have had fun." Shunsui smiled at Nanao as she fixed a strand of hair that had loosened itself. He reached up and tucked the hair back into her bun.

Nanao held still as Shunsui helped her fix her hair. "Thank you. And I did have fun. I don't get to do that very often. Usually my glasses stop that from happening. Otherwise I would cause a lot more damage around the division."

"Nanao-chan looked beautiful all lit up. Especially her smile. It was the brightest." Shunsui smiled as he placed an arm around her shoulder. He didn't wince as she pried his arm away. "Nanao-chan should relax more."

"I'm sure you would be just fine if I shocked you." Nanao suppressed a yawn, but she knew it was useless.

"Shall I walk you home?" Shunsui held out his arm with a smile.

Nanao sighed as she took his arm. "Romantic." She smiled as he chuckled. "Thank you, Tauchou."

They walked towards 1st squad barracks in a comfortable silence. Shunsui stopped just outside of one of the many gardens. "I want to show you something." He led her into the garden.

Nanao followed where he led. He was holding her hand to his arm, but she was curious about what he wanted to show her.

Shunsui easily found the spot he had been looking for. He shrugged off his pink kimono and laid it down.

"Did you just want to sit in a garden in the moonlight?" Nanao accepted his help when she tried to sit. It was rather difficult in her kimono. "And here I thought you weren't going to be a romantic." Nanao spoke with a smirk on her face and sarcasm in her voice.

"It's so rare for me to get to be with my Nanao-chan in such a peaceful moment. Other times are interrupted by paperwork or meetings. But tonight, the day is over, and everyone is busy at the festival. Or with their own form of celebration." Shunsui sat down beside Nanao, very close to Nanao. "It is valentine's day. I had almost forgotten, Nanao-chan didn't give me chocolate as she usually does."

Nanao flushed with embarrassment. "I...I had forgotten them in my quarters this morning. Sorry." She looked away from him and out towards the garden. The roses were blooming, the white ones glowed in the moonlight. She guessed her face was lit almost as brightly.

Shunsui cradled her cheek in his hand as he turned Nanao's face back to look at his. "Don't worry about it. This is a treat enough for me." He smiled as she blushed. 'She looks so cute. This feels like a story plot.' He remembered the gift he had bought Nanao. He reached into his yukata and pulled out the brown hardcover book. "For my lovely Nanao-chan."

"You didn't have to get me anything." Nanao accepted the book as she looked at the cover. It didn't have a title and it was a bit worn. But other than that, it was sturdy. She opened to the first page and began reading. She smiled as she began to understand the genre of the book. "You bought me a romance novel?"

"My Nanao-chan is always reading books. And since it is the holiday of love and romance, why not?" Shunsui smiled as Nanao continued to read. He could see her eyes light up as she read. "Shall I carry you the rest of the way home so that you can continue reading?"

Nanao shut the book quickly. "I would prefer if you didn't. I can continue it when I get home." She held the book close to her chest as she addressed him. "We should go. I can give you your chocolate when we get there."

Shunsui stood up and then helped Nanao to stand. "Very well, my lovely Nanao-chan." He picked up his kimono and placed it on his shoulders. He placed a hand on Nanao's back as they walked out of the garden.

Nanao ran her hand over the book cover nervously. She would have liked to stay with him longer, but that wasn't appropriate. They were Taichou and Fukutaichou, here were laws in place that couldn't be broken. No matter what she wanted.

Shunsui could feel the nervousness in her reiatsu, it worried him a bit. His smile lessened when Nanao's quarters came into view. "I had a lovely time. Thank you for inviting me." He helped her up the stairs as he stayed on the grass.

"Thank you for coming with me, Taichou." Nanao smiled, but knew it looked forced. "I'll go get your chocolate-" She felt her ankle twist as she turn towards her door. She expected to hit the deck, but wasn't too surprised to find herself in Shunsui's arms, again. "Thank you, Taichou."

"No problem, Nanao-chan." Shunsui wished they could be more to each other. More than just Taichou and Fukutaichou. More than fellow soldiers. More than friends. "I will always be there to save you, Nanao."

Nanao was completely surprised. He hadn't used her usual nickname. She looked up into his eyes and found herself mesmerized. 'Do I really want this? Does he want this?'

She reached up tentatively and ran her hand over his cheek. The fuzz brushed her skin and tickled the sensitive spots, it felt nice. Her hand continued till her hand was flush against his face. Her hand looked so small and pale. She didn't know whether to pull it away or not.

Shunsui smiled at her as he stood up with her still in his arms, her hand still on his cheek. "What is my sweet lovely Nanao-chan thinking of?" He spoke softly as he brought his hand up to rest on top of hers.

Nanao snapped out of her daze. She dropped her hand from his face, it hurt a bit when he didn't try to hold her hand there longer. She walked out of his arms and opened her door. "Would you like to come in?" She didn't turn to see if he followed, she knew he would.

"I would never pass up a chance to spend more time with my lovely Nanao-chan." Shunsui followed close behind, he didn't want Nanao to hurt herself in her shoes.

Nanao practically threw her shoes into the corner of her entryway. "I am never wearing those again." She walked to her bookshelf and pulled a bookmark from between a pair of books. She slid it into the spot her finger had been holding and set the book down on her coffee table. "I'll make tea. Your chocolates are here on the counter."

Shunsui followed Nanao to the kitchen. He saw the heart shaped box and smiled as he saw his name written in Nanao's formal handwriting. "Nanao is very skilled at calligraphy." He opened the box and smiled as he replaced the lid. He walked over to Nanao and wrapped his arms around her waist as he pressed a kiss to her cheek. "I love you too, Nanao."

Nanao smiled as she set the tea aside to steep. She turned her head and lost herself in Shunsui's eyes. "Happy valentine's day, Shunsui."

"Happy valentine's day, Nanao." Shunsui pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.

* * *

Please leave a comment or a question.


	16. Author's Notes

Author's Notes:

hey y'all,

so I still have more stories that are going to be added. So fear not. However, I need some feed back. So please post a review and tell me what you think.

And if you want to request a type of story. Like one were Nanao professes her love to him. Or one were their roles are reversed. Or where Nanao kills Shunsui. Or vice versa. Really I'm open to any ideas. And I would love you hear what type of scenarios you want to see this pair in.

However I will not write a lemon. I understand if some of you want one, but I am not doing it. I will do extremely fluffy ones, but no lemons!

Thank you.

Kairi


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